Moment's Reprieve
by PreciousBunny
Summary: Kai shows up with Ellie, and Tala is not far behind. Between the constant Russian arguements, can Rei figure out what this girl has to do with Kai? KaiOCness....
1. Chapter 1

Moment's Reprieve

Okay, um this is my first attempt at a submitted fan fiction. So, I hope it's at least okay. Let's not expect too much for myself, I guess... By the by... this story is only seven chapters... and the last one is decently short... so its not too long...  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything on here but plot and Ellie. I do not own any other characters (sadly); they all belong to the people who created Beyblade stuffs... Yep. nods  
Anyway... the only warning is that Kai gets ooc. Which is kind of the point. You'll see what I mean, hopefully.

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It wasn't the first time he had done this. Just shown up I mean. We all knew that he was coming here at some point this week. Mr. Dickenson had told us he was anyway. And he did, show up.

I woke up first that morning to find Kai making tea and a girl I had never seen sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hi, Kai." I said smiling, my normal self in the morning.

Kai did not reply, instead he pulled a cup from the cupboard and poured hot water into it. He slid it to sit in front of the girl, who did not look up from her hands, which sat on the table. Kai looked like he hadn't slept, but continued with what he was doing anyway.

"Hello, I'm Rei." I say to the girl, smiling at her. She looks up at me.

She has a frozen expression on, semi-Kai like. A few bangs of brown hair drifted in front of her violet eyes. She had triangles on her cheeks just like Kai's, except they were violet like her eyes. She also had three skinny, elongated triangles of violet on her forehead. It was a strange sight. She glanced me over without any emotion appearing on her face or in her eyes.

She reached out and took the cup that Kai had set on the table and brought it slowly to her pale lips. If possible, she was paler than Kenny. Her clothing struck me as the most strange though.

She had on what appeared to be a black fleece sweater with a hood that was rimmed in real fur. As she stood to retrieve something from the fridge, I saw that she also wore black jeans that had more pockets than cargo pants and were the loosest pair of pants I had seen on a girl in a long time. She had on a pair of black socks. The only thing on her a different color, which I only noticed once she returned to her seat, was a white headband that was now holding her hair back. I hadn't seen her put it on.

"And you are?" I ask, smiling at her again.

Her strange violet gaze flicks up to my face again, making me feel, somehow, like I was being sized up for a hunt, with me being the prey. She picked up the cup and drank from it again, shutting her eyes and allowing her elbows to prop her hands and the cup near her mouth.

"That's Ellie." Kai said suddenly, making me jump. I knew he was in the kitchen but I hadn't know that he was _that_ close to me. Seriously, he was standing not six inches away from me. He was staring at the strange girl as if he expected her to say something.

"Well... it's nice to meet you, Ellie." I say, she opens one eye lazily and gives me that look again. She shuts her eye as I stifle a shiver and turn to Kai, who has now moved again to sit at the table across from Ellie. "We would have gone and got you if we had known the plane to look for." I say softly, hinting for next time. I really hate being blunt, and I know that Kai understands my subtle way of double-speech, purely the innocent kind of double speech, mind you.

He says something, obviously not in reply to what I just said because I did not understand a word of it. Ellie's eyes flutter open and she sets the cup down lightly, still holding it in both hands. She replies the same way. I think it's Russian but I am not sure. I briefly wonder why she has marks on her face but I dread having those eyes look me over again.

Kai seems to bristle to her short response and replies, his voice actually sounding annoyed, though it is hard to tell when you can't actually understand the _words_. Ellie shrugs and replies, sounding almost nonchalant. She blinks slowly and I notice that she has some very long eyelashes.

Kai responds but stops when she appears to be ignoring him. I figure for a moment that he is going to hit her but he seems to calm himself pretty well. Her head tilts slightly to the right, as if she is trying to pick up sound from another room and I realize that I hear two people coming towards the kitchen.

Kai looks at the door for a moment and then gets up and leans against the wall behind Ellie, who calmly resumes her previous position with the cup paused in front of her mouth.

"Wow. That's a lot of make-up." Max says as he looks at the girl's face. Her eyes slide open and she stares unblinkingly at him. Max opens his mouth to say something, looks at Kai who is standing with his arms crossed and eyes shut, like usual, looks back at the girl and can't seem to find anything to say.

"Hello…" Kenny begins, Ellie's gaze remains on Max however, whose mouth is still hanging open.

"Uh… Max, Kenny, this is Ellie, a friend of Kai's." I say, smiling and gesturing.

"A friend of Kai's huh?" Max says, grinning and snapping out of whatever had gotten a hold of him. "Girlfriend maybe?" Ellie said nothing, but slowly sat the cup on the table.

Kai opened one eye as if wary of something, though his posture did not change.

"Hn." She said, one fang peeked out of her mouth as her upper lip raised in one corner, not in a half-smile, mind you. It was more like a 'don't-say-that-again' threat.

"Uh-huh." Max began nervously. He blushed.

"I'm Kenny." Kenny says to Ellie, who relaxes her lip but does not respond.

"Max." The blonde says finally.

It becomes dead silent for a while. No one moves, except Ellie who closes her eyes again and says something in Russian again.

Kai slid slowly from the wall and got something out, he took a big gulp of whatever it was that had come from that bag that I just noticed (so much for my keen-eye this morning) sitting on the counter. He put some of it in her tea and then put it away. He returned, watching her silently. He stood by the door this time, and again everyone froze. She opened one eye again and reached toward the drink. She raised it close, wrinkled her nose after smelling it and then took a small sip.

She seemed completely calm for a moment, and so she nearly scared me (and apparently Kenny and Max as well) when she stood and walked closer to Kai.

"Vodka." She said softly, her voice was a strange sound. Almost a soft breeze with the actual volume, but sort of harshly sweet. "I hate vodka." She poured the cup down Kai's front, who glared but said nothing as she placed the cup into Kai's waiting hand and walked past him out of the room.

For a moment it looked as if Kai was going to go kill her. There was definite anger in his eyes. Then he just sighed, in a very un-Kai-like manner, and put the cup in the sink. He left the room without so much as a small recognition that we were there.

"Well," Max said after he left. "That was weird."

"Very." I agree, still staring after them as Max gets breakfast food out of the fridge.

"Hmm, that was very unlike Kai, perhaps Max was right about the girlfriend theory." Kenny said, which was unlike _Kenny_, since he was usually oblivious to things such as that.

"Shh... she'll hear you." Max said, looking towards the door. "Man, are those eyes intense." He whispered.

Now, I have to agree with Max on that as well. Those violet eyes, along with being incredibly unusual, and strangely attractive, are the harshest eyes I have ever seen in my life. They seemed sort of devoid of life and threatening while managing to actually look haunted. I shrug and go to make some eggs and toast… who knows, maybe Ellie likes eggs and maybe we can get Kai to eat with us. The latter is as likely as getting Tyson to actually _not_ pig-out, but one can hope.

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"Are you guys hungry? I made breakfast." I ask as I walk into what I realize is an empty living room. I had seen them come in here, now where had they gone?

And there went a blur right past me. "Breakfast!" Shouted said blur, and so I assumed it was Tyson.

I glance around and see them sitting outside on the balcony. Ellie is sitting with her eyes closed and Kai (now dressed in a red shirt) is leaning against the railing talking again. She seems to be listening this time.

When she replies, he brings a chair over and sits behind her; he brushes fingers across her forehead. The triangles do not smear or mess-up in any way and so I am left thinking that those are tattoos and not make-up like Max said.

To my surprise, Ellie leaned back and put her head in Kai's lap. The fact that he actually allowed her to do so surprised me even more.

I shook my head and walked away. Though my interest was peaked, and I swore to follow up on this, I decided that it was better to allow Kai at least some peaceful (I'm not sure this is the right word, considering that she dumped vodka-spiked tea on him earlier) moments.

I walked into the kitchen and nearly got hit with flying food as Tyson stuffed his face. After seeing the serene scene outside, it is a terrible shock, but I adjust quickly since this is a normal thing with Tyson.

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After breakfast is over, I clean the plates, this is around the time that Kai comes in, followed by Ellie. If she had been one step closer to him then he would have had to carry her.

Tyson, who is snacking at the table now, looks up as Ellie enters the room.

"Huh, where'd you two come from?" He asks with a grin.

"Hn." That was Kai.

I look over my shoulder to find Ellie blinking at him as if deciphering his question. "My ancestors stem from Transylvania." She says, this seems to confuse her even more and she looks to Kai for direction.

Kai had stopped almost at the other side of the kitchen, near another door that led to the outside hall.

"That isn't what he meant." Kai says, and then says something in Russian and heads out the door.

She frowns, the actual first expression I had seen on her at all. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but see did not seem angry.

She turned her violet gaze to Tyson, who shivered.

"Wow, what a chilly gaze." He said with a chuckle.

I jumped when she growled.

"Huh, that make-up does no good either. It's way too much." He leaned back in his chair.

Did I mention this girl scares me? I mean who else would move quick enough to have Tyson by the throat and off the ground two seconds after he said that. I mean besides Kai if he didn't just walk away.

Speaking of Kai, he's in here again (I sort of missed his reentrance since I was more focused on trying to figure out exactly when Ellie moved) and he has one hand on her arm that is holding Tyson (only one arm! Imagine! I mean he _has_ to be heavy...). His other arm is wrapped around her waist and he is talking into her ear. Again they are speaking Russian. Well, Kai is speaking Russian, it sounds like Ellie is talking in something else. Kai sighed again and shook his head. Max, who had walked out to play video games about thirty minutes ago, walked in at this moment and just froze. Kai's eyes were focused on Tyson who was squirming in her grip.

Ellie growled again and Kai's fingers tensed on her stomach. He said something else (I am seriously going to have to learn this language at some point) and she lowered Tyson but did not let go. Kai put his chin on her shoulder and shut his eyes. He whispered something that sounded like "Just let go" in Japanese.

Her fingers loosened on his throat and she slowly released Tyson. Kai stepped away from her again and left. Ellie turned, looked over her shoulder at Tyson and then followed Kai out.

For a moment no one spoke. Max broke the silence.

"Um… Tyson… I think you shouldn't talk to her." Max gave a nervous laugh.

"She seems more volatile than Kai, if that's possible." I say, turning back to the dishes. I pause and wonder why he brought her along. I hear Max and Tyson leave the room, leaving me to my thoughts. I begin cleaning the dishes again and wonder what is going on with Kai. He seems different. I expected him to blow up at her when she dumped the tea on him, or at least let her hurt Tyson. Come to think of it, he had not only talked her down but had held her too. And before, on the balcony, he had allowed her to lay her head in his lap. This was decidedly un-Kai-like behavior and I really want to know what is going on. I would have to be careful, of course, unless I want to be caught by one of them.

I sigh; this would be much easier if I actually knew Russian. Despite this, I promise myself that I will look into this.

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The rest of the day passes strangely quietly. Hilary came over and dragged Tyson and Max out for something (most likely shopping). Kenny has himself locked in his room looking over stats. And here I am waiting for something interesting to happen.

How dull… I had just began resting my eyes when the door banged open. Kai came in and he was obviously seeing red. Tala was with him. The red head easily kept up with Kai's gate, though he was taking very long, fast strides. Tala was saying something in Russian and Kai, though his voice was low, seemed to be struggling not to shout.

Yep, something was up.

They headed into Kai's room and the door slammed shut. I quietly followed them and pressed my ear to the door, hoping that maybe they would switch to an understandable language. Thankfully, they did.

"You shouldn't worry about it Kai."

"And why not? She doesn't know where she is!"

"It isn't like we're still in Russia. Then I would understand, but…" Tala was calm. Kai was not. Strange to the millions.

"At least in Russia she can find her way back." Kai was either calming down or gaining control of himself.

"Yes, but in Russia… she could run into other wolves."

Other wolves…? That makes no sense to me.

I heard a sigh.

"Am I right?" Tala asked softly. "You are so tense. You need to relax." That was a strange comment. "Anyway, you know she'll be back before night fall." There is a long pause. Then Tala started talking again, in Russian.

I sigh and leave when he continues on for about five minutes in Russian.

Now what was that about 'other wolves'? I was walking more focused on my thoughts than where I was going and I walked right into someone. I fell backwards and suddenly had violet eyes staring at me from above. She offered me a hand, which I took and she pulled me to my feet.

"Sorry, Ellie, didn't see you there." I give a nervous laugh.

She shrugs and looks at me, then at Kai's door and then back at me. She raises one eyebrow.

"Erm, hehe. I know I shouldn't eavesdrop, but Kai was acting funny and I wanted to make sure he was okay." I say, laughing nervously again.

She tilts her head and listens to something. "What… what do you mean?" She says softly. "I mean that I'm not sure I can deal with this much longer." She pauses and frowns. "But you promised, Tala… I know I did but she is too much for anyone to handle. You ought to let her go be a wolf… I can't, they'll kill her… That isn't your fault… It is partially, you know that Tala." She growled and sighed at the same time, I did not think that was possible… anyway, she listens for a moment more. "... not like you can fix it... If I had not stepped in... she would have _died_, Kai. Isn't that true?... Yes, and if I let her go now she'll die as well... and that won't be your fault... Tala... It won't be... You just don't understand... I think I do, Kai and it isn't ri... That isn't the point!" She paused and looked straight into my face.

For a moment she just stands there studying me. I stand there trying to decide what to say. Finally I settle for "Was that what they were saying?"

She tilts her head and some of her hair slides around her body and hangs at her side. The long black lock of hair is just a scant centimeter from touching the floor. It is a little longer than mine and I hadn't even noticed. Her bangs weren't nearly as long, they came down to her shoulders. I just blinked as I looked at her hair.

"Not exactly… but I thought you wanted the translation…?" She asked, her eyes did not blink and she just continued staring at me.

"Erm…" I began but could not find the words at all.

She shrugged and walked past me, she brushed fingers over the doorknob but did not turn it. She seemed to still be listening. She breathed slowly and I just stood there watching her as she forced herself to appear relaxed. She bristled at something she heard but made no sound.

She turned and walked past me again, heading towards the kitchen. I heard cupboard doors slam open and shut. She came back in a moment later and handed me the bottle Kai had earlier.

"Take this to him." She said, nodding towards the door and allowing her hands to hang at her sides.

"Wha...?" I ask, looking at the bottle as if it is the most curious thing in the world.

"Take that to him." She said again. At this point I realize that she is speaking Chinese, and had been speaking it since she had begun talking to me.

I looked at her again. Then I went and knocked on the door. "Kai? It's Rei."

No one responded for a moment.

"What do you want?" He asked finally, he sounded exhausted.

"Um…" I looked at Ellie for direction, she shrugged. "Ellie told me to give you this."

Again, he did not respond for a long moment.

"Is she out there with you, Rei?" Kai's voice was almost soft, scary how different he was right now.

I look at Ellie, she nods.

"Yes."

"Tell her to bring it in here." Ellie shook her head.

"She says no."

"Tell her to speak for herself." I look at her again.

She takes the steps to the door and slams it with the side of her fist and growls.

"Okay, okay." Kai opens the door, Tala is standing beside him in the lit room. Ellie points to the bottle in my hand and Kai looks at it. He takes it from me hesitantly and looks at it. He looks up at Ellie and says something. She replies, turns away and crosses her arms. He hands the bottle to Tala and Kai reaches out and brushes the side of her arm. She says nothing but leans back slightly. She growls again and whips around pointing a finger at Tala and wagging it as she says something, loudly, and angrily in Russian. Kai frowned and looked sad, Tala's grip on the bottle tightened.

Tala responded, even though Ellie had been talking to Kai, so she walked around him and said something in his face. I saw a glint of fangs as she spoke.

Kai stepped in between them and said something to Tala first and then to Ellie. Tala looked away and appeared to be containing his anger. Ellie crossed her arms again and blew at a lock of hair that had fallen in her face. It drifted up lazily and landed in exactly the same spot. Kai reached up but his hand faltered with the withering glance Tala gave him. Kai rolled his eyes. He said something to Tala and then to Ellie.

Ellie and Tala started it up again and Kai was just about to say something when we heard the door open and Tyson and Max walk in complaining loudly about carrying something. Two seconds later I turned back to the Russians and there was no one there and the door was shut.

I sighed, figured I had been dismissed and walked to my room, trying to block out the sound of Tyson yelling at Hilary and vice versa. Sometimes I hate these people, well, not really; oh, you know what I mean.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

I hadn't realized that Tyson could wake up before me. Granted he was wiping sleep from his eyes and all, but still. He was awake before me? Grief, something must be up.

Anyway, I woke up to find everyone outside and getting ready to practice. I briefly wonder why no one told me, or at least woke me up, but looking at Tyson's soggy clothes, it might have been a good thing no one woke me.

Max was talking to Tyson, who looked about ready to fall asleep standing up, but was facing Ellie with the oddest expression on his face.

Kai was leaning against a tree with his eyes shut. It was possible that he was trying to ignore Tala and Ellie, more for their attitudes this morning than their arguing.

Ellie was sitting stiffly on a concrete bench with her arms crossed and her eyes shut. Her legs were crossed and she was facing Kai. Tala was sitting on a bench about five feet from her facing the opposite direction and mumbling to himself.

I walked over to Kenny, who was sitting on the grass with Dizzi in his lap. He was typing something.

"Did I miss something?" I ask, sitting beside him and looking at the others.

"Well, only being woken up by Tala and Ellie screaming at each other in Russian, Kai sitting on the couch drinking coffee and looking like he hadn't slept all night. Max coming out of the room and being slugged by Tala who was aiming for Ellie, but of course Max walked right in between them and then the spectacle of Tyson coming out because they were that loud. Tyson came out just as Ellie went to back-hand Tala, so Tyson got back-handed instead." Kenny paused and looked at me. "Really, it was so loud I'm surprised you didn't wake up." Kenny continued typing. "Well, Hilary didn't wake-up either. Even when Kai moved her off the couch so that he could sit there." Kenny gave a shrug.

"Huh." I say, looking at everyone else. This would explain why Tyson was watching Ellie, probably wary of being hit again. I could just see the beginning of a bruise on Maxie's face. Looking closer at Kai and I could see that Kenny was right, he looked like he had stayed up all night. This would also explain why Tala and Ellie were on separate benches. Not that I expected them to sit together, what little of them I had seen together yesterday had been enough. They most certainly weren't suited to being around each other, and somehow Kai was caught in the middle, hell if I knew how he was though…

Kai had us practicing as soon as he noticed I was there, it took him awhile so I knew that he was beyond distracted. Tala joined the practice, seemingly happy to get away from focusing on his Ellie problem. Kai did not let us even stop until after noon, so we ate lunch late.

We ended up eating at a buffet, which Tyson nearly cleaned out. Not a surprising thing, really.

What surprised me was how little Kai ate. He seemed worried as he sat between Tala and Ellie. Ellie and Tala seemed to be in a glaring match. Only when Ellie or Tala went to get food did they quit glaring. By the way, I've never seen a girl put down so many steaks, and rare at that too... That was really random. Sorry. I'm supposed to be reporting this story and here I am talking about her diet. Huh... _anyhow_, like I was saying, Ellie and Tala were in a glaring match that lasted pretty much the entire meal. Kai at one point leaned over his plate, put his elbow on the table and sat there, a physical barrier, so that he could make them stop. This worked only long enough to ensure that they would start bickering again. Well, actually it was Tala talking.

Kai sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair, signaling the waitress to get him a refill of coffee, how many cups has he had sense we got here? Let's see... there was the first cup, then six more before he leaned forward, one or two _after_ he leaned forward, so I would say that if he was anyone else he should be bouncing off the walls with the amount of caffeine in his body. I caught him pouring something into his coffee and then quickly stowing the rest of said something in the bag Ellie had brought with her. Now I haven't a clue what is in said bag, but Kai carries it for her. And it is nothing like a purse mind you, it is black and if sitting on the floor, it comes up to one's knee. He is incredibly careful with it, as if he doesn't want to break it or he doesn't want it to hurt him.

Like I said, it's been strange lately.

After about thirty _more_ minutes of Tala saying something in Russian, I interjected.

"So, Ellie, what is your nickname short for?" I ask, taking a bite of some green vegetable that I really wasn't paying enough attention to so I can't tell you what it was.

She completely freezes, except for her eyes. The violet eyes drift curiously across my face. They seem guarded, and very curious at the same time, her face reveals nothing to me, however. Kai looks at me briefly, then closes his eyes again.

"Angeline." She says softly.

"Why Ellie then? I mean you could have picked out any name, Angel for example." I smile at her. She blinks at me and then puts her fork down.

Her eyes flicked to Kai, who had twitched when I said that name. She seemed about to say something, then seemed confused.

"Rei," Kai says, bringing one hand to his forehead and rubbing the middle of it. The other picks up his coffee and he takes a sip. "This is neither the time nor the place." He says as he sets the cup down. If I am not mistaken, I hear his words slurring. What is he putting in that coffee?

I go to say something, but Tala shoots me a glare that makes me cringe.

"She's a wolf, that's why." Tala says, as if that explained anything. He pushes his plate away at the exact moment that Ellie pushes hers away and puts her arms on the table. She lays her head in her crossed arms. Somehow, she seems to be closer to Kai and yet further from everyone else, and I know neither of them have moved.

"Tala." Kai grumbles. Yes, I am right, he even slurred that. His hand drops away from his head and he glares at Tala.

They speak in Russian for a moment and then Kai gets up, he grabs the black bag with his left hand and lays the other on Ellie's head. He brushes a strand of hair further away from her face with his thumb and then slides his hand away. He mumbles, "Come on." And then stands there waiting for her to get up, which she does without raising her gaze at all.

I watch them leave, and then Tala who leaves a few minutes later.

I look at the rest of my group. Tyson was so busy eating he hadn't noticed the strange scene. Kenny was so busy with Dizzy that he hadn't either. Max gave a small confused smile and then shrugged at me.

"That was odd." I say to him.

"Yep, something's up." He gives me another smile. "But you already noticed didn't you, Rei?"

I nod and finish off my plate. "I'm checking into it, trying to figure it out. What's got me more than the Kai-acting-weird is that Tala keeps calling her a wolf..." I trail off.

"That is odd... a wolf, huh?" He muses and then looks at her plate. "Well, she did eat a lot of rare meat." He offers with a shrug. "And those eyes are definitely not human, not to mention those fangs. Her back-hand didn't look all that girly either." He looked at Tyson, and though the backhand had happened hours ago, he still had a very red mark on his cheek and lower lip. Actually, it looked like it had bruised that color. Max shrugged again and continued with his meal.

I stood to go and Max said one last thing. "Well, whatever is going on, I'm sure you'll figure it out, Rei. Good luck."

"Thanks." I say, heading out. He gives me a wave and I wave back as I walk out of sight, heading to the only place I can think of: the hotel. Most likely, I won't find all of them, but if I could just talk to one of them, maybe I could get the basic story and then fill in around it.

This, by the way, is getting _much_ more complicated than I thought it would. I thought I would only have to figure out what Ellie and Kai were doing together. Now I needed to figure out why Tala was here and why there was a feud going between the three Russians.

Thinking of nationalities makes me think back to something Ellie had told Tyson when he asked where they had come from. "'My ancestors stem from Transylvania.'" She had said.

On second thought, I think I'll head to the public library. I mean, obviously, they should have something worth looking up. Even if it is just a supposed 'myth' like neko-jins. And we all know how 'mythical' they are. Ignore my bemused grin, by the way.

So, as soon as I make my way to the library, I look in the international myth section. Which took me awhile to find. I walked past about five other sections before I ever found the sign for the section.

Anyhow, after I get there, I look for the Transylvanian myths. Um… one would think that, with all the Dracula stuff, it would have been a large section, but no. I actually over looked it the first time. And when I did find books, I found they weren't focused on my idea. With that idea a bust, I leaned back against the bookcase behind me and thought. About five minutes later, someone else was in the aisle.

"Hey, are you okay?" Asked a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She smiled at me and I saw the tips of fangs peek out from under her pale lips.

"Uh… yeah, fine. Just trying to think what else to look under." I said, looking over her. She wore white clothing that seemed to fade into her skin. She was a little paler than Ellie.

"What are you looking for?" She asked, her blue eyes flicking over the section in front of me.

"Well... this might seem silly... I heard something about wolves..." I trailed off and she blinked at me.

"Wolves aren't fictional." She stated bluntly.

"Well... what I mean is that I heard something about Transylvanian wolves? In human forms…" I assumed I sounded insane, but she was also in this section, so maybe not.

She gave a long pause. "Do you mean were-wolves?" She asked softly.

I shook my head. "No. I'm not really sure what I mean." I gave a small shrug and then looked at the books in front of me.

The girl gave me a wicked smile. "Ah. I see." She turned away from me and peered at the books. She went to the Russian section (I thought it was a Transylvanian thing...) and returned with four books. She held them out to me. "Well, this should help. My name's Jamie, by the way." She gave me that soft smile again, which was a shock after that last one.

I took the books from her, careful not to get any closer to her than necessary; she gave me the creeps. "Thanks." I say, returning the smile. "Rei."

"Rei... huh. I find it odd that one such as yourself would be looking up Transylvanian myths, though I guess that shouldn't surprise me. Considering what you are." She inclined her head similar to the way Ellie did, but with Ellie it was more like a trying to figure things out. With Jamie it looked like she was hinting at something dangerous.

"What… I am?" I ask, feeling confused. What did this girl know?

"Well, it's not often I find a Chinese cat searching for a Transylvanian wolf. Tell me, who is it you know of?" She asked, surprising me. Her blue eyes had a strange look that I could not read.

I pause for a moment. "Just an interest." I say lamely. "Thanks for the help. I really should go look through the books now." I smile at her and walk towards a table not far away. Sadly she follows me. Even sadder is that just at the same time I find Kai and Ellie walking towards me, neither are looking at me.

Jamie pauses and Ellie looks up, their eyes meet and both bristle. Kai curses under his breath and then looks at me. There is something akin to confusion in his eyes. Ellie walks toward the table I had just sat at, but she never takes her eyes off of Jamie.

"This is the girl?" Jamie asks me, her eyes also frozen to Ellie.

Kai moves to stand beside Ellie, who is standing and her eyes are flicking between Jamie and the books. She takes one from me and looks at it. She brushes fingers over the title. "This is much better in the original Russian." She states flatly. She opens it and looks through it. She bristles again. Her violet gaze flicks across my face and then goes to Jamie again.

Jamie spoke in some language. Ellie replied, though hesitantly. I look at Kai. "Romanian." He says softly in reply to my unspoken question. He looks uncertain about what to do and just stands there. He was tensing up as he watched the exchange. Jamie appeared to be becoming angry, while Ellie seemed to be defensive.

After a long exchange, Jamie just turns on her heel and walks away. She is obviously angry, but says nothing more. Ellie sits down and sighs. She looks at me for a moment and then looks at Kai. Kai nods and sits down. Neither of them spoke for a long moment.

"You... wish to know something?" Ellie asked finally, spreading the other books out and peering at them.

"Well, for one I'd like to know the conversation I missed." I said it more as a joke, but with the expression Ellie gave me, I realized she did not find it quite so funny. "Erm... never mind about that then. I want to know about this whole wolf thing Tala keeps bringing up." I said bluntly and then point at the books. Ellie nods silently and Kai looks away.

"I'm not sure you do." She says finally. "That girl you were with. She was one. They aren't to be trusted. They are violent." Her voice was soft but her eyes were hard.

"He keeps referring to you when he says it." I state bluntly.

"And I do not respond when he does." Her voice was softening, and lowering. Kai was still looking away, I realized he did not want to be a part of this conversation.

Ellie looked at Kai. "Kai?" She said softly, then proceeded to say something in Russian, to which he shook his head and responded in kind. Ellie turned back to me. "This is neither the time nor the place." She said simply, picked up the books and began to return them to their places. I'm not sure how she knew where they belonged.

"Rei... trust me. You don't want to know." Kai said, watching Ellie as she moved slowly. I guessed this is what they had discussed in Russian.

"I do want to know." I said simply. He turned his gaze to me.

"Why?" he said at length.

I thought about this, really, I was not that sure why I wanted to know, blame it on my curiosity I guess, but I gave an answer anyway. "Because, whatever is going on it involves that girl." I point toward Ellie. "And whatever is going on has got you acting weird and not sleeping. Not to mention putting something in your coffee." I said, he frowned at me. "And you're having disputes with Tala, and Ellie is having loud disputes with Tala." I pause, she is lingering, looking in a book, apparently reading it. This makes me wonder why they were in the library, but I do not ask. "I want to know enough that I came here to look up what Tala was going on about. I want to help if I can."

Kai said nothing for a long time. "That's the thing, Rei." He paused and looked over at Ellie again. "You can't help with this. At least not that I can see." He paused again. "Let's talk about this later, okay? She'll start yelling at me if I don't get some rest." He gave a small smile, very odd. Maybe it was a joke, I don't know. Either way, Ellie came over and looked at me and then Kai. She turned and walked towards the entrance to the library and Kai stood and began to follow her. "We'll talk later, I promise, Rei." He said raising one hand in a semi-goodbye wave. And they left. And then I was left feeling even more confused than before.

I sighed and hoped that Kai would keep his promise. I was sure that he would. It was Kai after all, but then again... he was acting weird.

I just needed to resolve this.

I stood up, looked around, and then headed back to the apartment, as I was unsure what else to do.

--------

When I got there, everyone was outside again. Apparently, Tyson and Max had finished lunch and had come back not long ago. Kai was sitting and leaning against a tree, looking about half-asleep. Ellie and Tala were nowhere to be seen. Kenny was sitting on one of the stone benches and typing again.

"Rei!" Greeted Tyson loudly, making Kai stir and look up. He pushed himself up, rather unsteadily I might add.

He stood up and shook his head as if to clear it. Then he walked over to us. He made us train more. He looked unsteady on his feet the entire time, but I kept my mouth shut about that. I'm sure the last thing that he wanted was me to point this out to him.

Just as we were readying ourselves to go, Ellie showed up with Tala close behind. Tala was mumbling something under his breath while Ellie approached Kai. She slowed down as she saw Kai, who seemed to be listing slightly.

She said something to him in Russian and walked quickly over to him. She reached out to him and then dropped her hand as he said something in reply. She looked over her shoulder at Tala, who shrugged, but said nothing. She walked with Kai and Tala as they headed up to the room. Tyson and Max ran past them, while Kenny slowly trod forward. I was the last to the room.

Ellie and Kai were sitting on the balcony again. She was staring upwards into a darkening sky. Kai was leaning back in the chair he had left out there.

I walked over and looked at them. Ellie seemed transfixed by whatever was in the sky, while Kai was just watching her; he had a very, very small smile on his face. I hesitantly knocked on the glass that separated us and then slid the door open. Neither of them looked at me.

"Is this a bad time?" I ask, looking at Ellie as she just remains staring up. Perhaps she had not heard me.

"No, now's fine." Kai responded, I noted that the smile was gone now. He looked up at me and then nodded toward the glass door. I shut it without him speaking.

"Is she okay?" I ask, as she still has her head back and is _still_ looking at the stars. Kai looks over at her and gives a slight chuckle, he tries to cover it up, but I heard it anyway.

"She's fine, she's just been locked inside too long." This just sounds weird to me. Kai doesn't even seem to notice my expression, but hey, he's still staring at Ellie. I manage to get my expression back to neutral before he looks over.

"Grab a seat." He says, gesturing weakly at the chair across from him. I sit and just watch as he looks back at Ellie, who still seems to not have a clue I'm sitting here.

"So…" I say, as the silence drags on too long for me. Normally, I'd like the silence, but I just really want to know.

"He puts Vodka in his coffee." Ellie says suddenly, seemingly randomly. "He's drunk." Kai leans forward and raps her on the head, he frowns, but really says nothing about it.

"Is that all you have to say?" Kai asked, she looked over her shoulder at him, then over the other one at me. For a second she reminds me of a little puppy dog, as her expression is blankly innocent. She also seems child-like with the sunset reflecting off of her face and the violet stripes.

"On my forehead are real. My cheeks are not. I just like Kai's." She says softly. One side of her mouth turns up in a smile. She blinks and just sits there waiting. It seems strange that she is speaking incomplete sentences, but I don't ask. Kai sighs, almost in exasperation. He shakes his head.

"How old are you, Ellie?" I ask, kind of confused at all of this. She seems to change everything about Kai without trying to.

"Age... my age?" She asks softly, she seems confused. She looks over at Kai for help. He shrugs. She looks back at me. "I was born... February... fifteen years ago. Wolf clan." The last part was whispered.

"Wolf? See this is where I don't understand." I say, looking at her. She shrugs and looks up at the stars again. We sit there for a moment.

"There is a Russian legend about a clan of wolves. Some Transylvanian wolves were said to be born human. They are feared everywhere in Russia and Transylvania. Some people say they exist, some say they don't." Kai said, his red eyes met mine with their normal intensity.

"Why…?" I ask, not understanding.

"The same reason people fear things like werewolves or the dark. It's an unknown. She's an unknown." Kai said softly, there was something to his voice, something I did not recognize.

Ellie stood up and leaned over the edge of the railing.

"Ellie..." Kai warned. He stood for a moment and when she leaned even further over he grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back. Some how he managed to miss most of her hair. She leaned back as he didn't let go and then walked backwards as he sat down. She sat down… in his lap… and leaned against his chest.

"Long way down." She said, looking up into his face.

"Very." He said, he wrapped one arm around her back and the other he used to push hair out of her face.

It struck me that she was acting like a child. Maybe she was a child in her own culture. I don't really know. All I knew was that either Kai was doing this because he was _very_ drunk or because he actually cared for her. Either way, he didn't force her out of his lap.

She put her head under his chin and curled up as much as possible. She wasn't that little, Kai was maybe an inch taller than her, and she wasn't wearing high heels like many girls do.

We sat there in silence for a long time, Ellie was actually the one to break the silence. "It's going to rain, Kai." She looked over at me. It had been so long since anyone had spoken, I had assumed that she had fallen asleep, then again, earlier I had thought that she didn't know I was here...

"Soon?" Kai asked, shutting his eyes.

"Half-hour to an hour. Can't you smell it, neko-jin?" She asked me. How perceptive were these wolves anyway? That other one… Jaime, had known what I was as well...

I sniff at the air, more for her amusement than anything, but couldn't tell if it was going to rain. Normally I could if it was about fifteen minutes away, but a half-hour away was stretching it. "No."

"Hn. You lived in a village?" She asked, suddenly sliding off Kai's lap and landing on all fours. Kai did not look surprised, but I certainly was.

"Yes."

She stretched like a house cat. Grief, I've never seen a person do that, much less a girl. And I hadn't been convinced she had the body to be a girl. I looked away.

"I like the forest." She said rocking back and sitting with her knees to her chest.

"Is that where you grew up?"

She paused and waited for something. Kai said something to her in Russian. She responded in the same. Finally, she responded. "Mostly." She got up and looked at Kai, they seemed to be agreeing on something without speaking. Needless to say, this was sort of freaking me out. I mean, do wolves read minds too? They seem to do everything else...

Ellie looked up at the stars again. Wind suddenly buffeted us and her hair went flying about. It swirled around her and made her look almost sorceress-like.

"Angel is what the others called me. Call me. It is bad to use in public." She said. I noticed that her hands were fisted at her sides and that she was standing stiffly. Kai stood up and took hold of one of her arms. He tried to pull her inside, but she growled at him. Kai looked peeved then stared at me. I stood after a moment's hesitancy. I really wasn't sure what to do.

I was glad I had followed him, though. It started to rain a few minutes later. It poured rain, and I had a feeling that Ellie was going to come in drenched.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3

It was the next day, and everyone was already outside. Except for Ellie and Tala, who were nowhere to be seen. Kai seemed more steady on his feet, at least to me, and a lot more focused on training. Which means he was even harder on us. It wasn't until lunchtime that we took a break. Just as we were getting to sit down, Ellie appeared. She was wearing a shirt I had not seen before, it was flowing and black and it reminded me of medieval times. You know, the wide, long sleeves, with some needlework on the front. She was wearing the same pair of pants though. Or it could have been another pair, who can tell? She had on black boots (without high-heels) that seemed almost combat ready. She still wore that white head-band, I have yet to figure out why...

She walked over to us and sat on one of the stone benches. The same one that Kenny happened to be sitting on. He jumped when he noticed her peering at him. She hooked one finger over the top of his computer. "What is this?" She asked, peering at the back of it.

"Um... a computer..." Kenny said, sounding surprised.

"No. I mean... why does it talk to you?" She seemed hesitant to talk in Japanese, but also seemed to understand it well enough.

"I got stuck in here." Dizzi said to her. Ellie leaned forward, and I had a feeling that if she would have had wolf ears they would have been pressed forward.

"Stuck? What are you?" She asked. Kenny turned the computer around to face her and she blinked at it.

"I'm a bit beast, the same thing as what the boys have in their beyblades." Dizzi responded.

"Oh. Huh. You talk though." Ellie said simply. She seemed simply amazed at the idea. "Dranzer doesn't." She stated, "Well, at least not to me." Before Dizzi could come back with a reply, Ellie had looked over her shoulder at someone walking towards us.

That someone was Mr. Dickenson. Ellie glared. I hadn't realized that she hadn't been glaring before. But really... this glare would have been enough to physically bowl someone over. Except of course, for Mr. Dickenson, who just smiled at everyone.

"Hello," He says smiling more. He looks around at all of us. He nods at Ellie. "I don't think we've met. I'm Mr. Dickenson, owner of the Blade Breaker team."

"Whatever." She growled, standing up, she looked away from him and seemed to tense.

"Ellie." Kai's voice was soft, barely audible. Ellie's hand twitched as if she wanted to grab him by the throat like she had Tyson.

She turned back to Mr. Dickenson. "My name is Angeline Criox. Ellie. You're the one that sends Kai away?" Her eyes were hard and her fangs were blatantly obvious.

"Well, I would never say it that way…" He began.

"You take him from Russia, ne? You take him and bring him here? Send him round the world, ne?" She asked, her body was shaking.

"Ellie." This time Kai was giving a warning. He stepped closer to her, he was but a few feet from her when Mr. Dickenson replied.

"Well, I guess if you look at it that way, the answer would be yes." He smiled at her, this did not calm her. She flicked him off. Kai smacked her over the head. He said something in Russian. I heard laughter from beside me and turned to see Tala there.

"He told her not to say that again." Tala said, with a wicked grin. "Really, you ought to hear that girl mouth off to Kai." Tala laughed again.

Ellie was staring at Kai in surprise. Her mouth was opened to say something and then she just shut it and turned away.

"Ah, now for the apology." Tala said, frowning.

Kai had been about to say something but Ellie cut him off. I looked to Tala, and could tell from his expression that this had never happened before.

"Shit." Tala said, staring at Ellie as she continued on. The girl was shaking pretty badly. It was odd. She seemed to be trying to hide something from coming across her face, but there it was. I could see her mouth turn down and a few tears made their way down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook and Kai reached out to lay a hand on one of them, but she pulled away at the last minute. "Shit." Tala said again. He seemed as surprised as me and everyone else, though perhaps for a different reason. Kai looked confused and slightly hurt.

"Forgive me, sir." Ellie said at length. "I have insulted you and delayed what you wished to say to them. I shall delay you no longer." She bolted as soon as she finished her sentences.

"I'll go get her." Tala offered, stepping toward Kai.

"No." Kai said simply, then turned back towards Mr. Dickenson. "I'm sorry about Ellie, she's been through a lot." It was strange to hear Kai say that, not just because of the apology, but also because we all knew that he had been through a lot himself. What could Ellie have possibly been through that could even compare…?

"That's okay, Kai." Mr. Dickenson replied softly. "However, I do have some news that she would probably have wanted to hear." He paused as if in thought and then continued. "You all are being sent to Ireland. There is someone there I need you all to meet. However, you'll have to make a stop over in Russia, just due to something else I have planned." He smiled at us.

And here I had thought Tala was done saying that word, but no. "Shit." He said again and then switched to Russian. Kai glanced over at Tala. Tala kept on, muttering Russian under his breath.

"When do we leave?" Max asked, beating Kai to the question.

"In one week." Mr. Dickenson says, then looks at his watch, apparently deciding that it is time to go, he turned away, waved at us and walked off. We all just stood there for a moment. Tala was the first to break the silence.

"Well… Ellie isn't going to take this well."

Kai glared at him. Tala flinched and looked away. Tala tried to start a conversation in Russian with him, but Kai just turned away.

-

Would you believe that it is harder to keep tabs on something that isn't happening because one of the components is missing? Well, it is.

Not much happened in the next few days, since Ellie didn't return. So I was sort of lost on clues as to what was happening. What did happen, however, was that Kai started sleeping on the couch. Actually, it was more like he was watching t.v. until two in the morning on the couch. And Tala took to pouring out any bottle he could find that was similar to what Kai had been putting in his coffee on the first days.

Kai had us training hard (big surprise there [erm... that was sarcasm for those of you who didn't get that). He and Tala mostly quit talking. Tala _tried_ to talk to him, but Kai just dismissed him a lot.

It was about midnight, two days before we left for our Russian stopover, when Ellie came in the door. She was silent as she walked through the apartment. I wouldn't have known, but I had been watching TV with Kai, who had fallen asleep at some point.

She walked in, looked at me, and then at Kai. She frowned, and I was about to say something, when she put one finger to her lips. The universal shush sign.

She stepped closer to Kai and kneeled beside the couch. She reached up and brushed some of his bangs out of his face. He made a sound in his sleep, but did not wake. She sighed and looked at me. I noted then that she did not have the triangles on her cheeks, and also that her clothes were a little tattered. Even in the little constantly changing light from the TV, I could see that her lip had been split and that there was a cut on her right cheek.

She nodded at me, as if reading my thoughts about her being in a fight, which had crossed my mind. I really doubt that she reads minds, but she is definitely reading something off people. Maybe it's body language, I would think that wolves would be able to read that. Maybe not. I'm still not sure what she can and cannot do.

"He has been sad?" She whispered softly, gently stroking his cheek and watching him as he slept.

"He's been different." I whisper back. She seems sad, even though her face does not give it away, and I can't read her eyes. "Why is he so different when you're around?" I had accidentally asked this- which had been my thought yet again.

Her hand paused and she glanced at me briefly. "I do not understand." She titled her head to the side, and some of her hair brushed Kai's arm. He shifted in his sleep and Ellie looked at him. One of his eyes opened slightly, and then he opened both. He laid there staring at her.

"Ellie." He whispered finally. He sat up and stared at her. Her hands rested on his knees. Neither of them spoke for a long moment. And I certainly did not speak, at least for fear of ruining the moment. And it certainly felt like a moment that shouldn't be ruined.

Kai reached up and brushed one hand across her cheek, she leaned into his hand but kept her violet eyes focused on his red eyes.

"Where have you been?" He asked, running his thumb over her split lip. "Did you get in another fight?"

Ellie nodded. She buried her face in his lap. I nearly laughed, because I thought Kai would never allow anyone to do that. But their relationship had been surprising me so far, and so I managed to keep it choked down.

"Are you okay, ангел?" Kai asked, stroking the back of her head.

"I'm sorry, Kai." She said, looking up at him.

"No..." He began, he pulled her up to sit in his lap. She obliged him and sat facing him. Her hands rested against his chest.

"I am. I was bad." She said, she gave a little smirk, it, however, was a smirk that revealed that she had a slightly devilishly humorous side. Kai did not say anything; neither did Ellie. She just looked over to me. Kai followed her gaze to look at me as well.

"Hello, Rei." Kai said simply, he obviously forgot I was there, or maybe he assumed I had gone to bed, since it was around midnight.

"I'll... I'll go now." I said, beginning to stand up.

"No, that's okay." Kai said, meanwhile sliding around to lie down on the couch. Ellie matched his movements and ended up lying on top of him. Her head rested on his chest. I sat back down.

"I'm still sorry, Kai." She said, and pushed away from him, standing and walking to the kitchen. She opened a cupboard and then shut it. She came back in with a bemused smirk. "Tala poured your drinks out?" She asked.

Kai nodded. "I need to tell you something." He said.

"We're going back to Russia." Ellie replied. Kai looked over at her. "I know, Tala found me the other day." Now, I hadn't even been aware that Tala had left on his own, so this came as a shock to me. And from how Kai and Tala had been acting, I would have assumed that it was near impossible to find her. "I have question though. When do we leave?" She looked at Kai as she leaned against the doorframe. Her arms were crossed across her chest.

"Two days." Kai said simply. Ellie shivered.

"Cold?" I asked. They both looked at me. Both expressions were calm, as if they had just visited their idea of a serene place, does Kai have one of those?

"Mmm… no. I just don't like Russia." She said simply. "The... people there... they don't like my kind..." She said softly.

"They don't like wolves?" I asked for clarification.

"Amar de la sine." Ellie said. Her violet eyes were distant.

"What does that mean?" I ask, Kai's eyes glaze over, I can tell he doesn't want to know. Or maybe he already does.

"Amar is savage, ruthless, inhuman, wolfish. While de la sine is of oneself, or of one's own account. Roughly translated it means wolfish of one's own account. Means wolfish one. Roughly of course. Romanian." She sighed. "Russians generally recognize the reference and hate me for it." She paused. Her gaze had drifted above my head and was placed firmly, but oddly, on the wall behind me.

"You don't have to say it though…" I know this is something lame to say, but it seems logical to me.

"Ah, it wouldn't be me that said it. Someone would recognize me and the word would spread." Ellie stayed there. She yawned suddenly.

"Tired, Ellie?" Kai asked, looking at her. She nodded silently and let her eyes remain on the wall behind me. Her violet eyes slid down to look at Kai.

"I'm going to bed." She walked past us calmly, opened the door to Kai's room and didn't bother to shut it. I heard someone curse and something hit the ground. I wanted to look over my shoulder and see what was happening, but something in my mind told me it was better not to.

A smirk danced evilly on Kai's lips. "She kicked Tala out of the bed." Kai rose silently and walked into his room. I heard the door shut as Russian words drifted through the air.

I rose, turned the tv off and went to bed, what else was there for me to do? My subjects of study weren't speaking an understandable language and they had left me in the living room.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Ellie was growling, she was clinging silently to Kai's arm. Her eyes, though remaining fixed in front of her, seemed to pick up every movement.

Tyson laid a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and growled louder.

"Uh…huh… Nervous?" Tyson asked, dragging his hand away.

She mumbled something at him and then clutched Kai's arm tighter. There were red marks forming on it.

Kai mumbled in Russian and she relaxed her grip. Tala stood on the other side of her, looking angry, and yet slightly wary. But not of Ellie. We checked our bags and headed towards the plane. I was surprised to find that Kai was about as tense as Ellie and Tala. I only noted this when I accidentally waked into him and could feel the muscles in his back all taunt, as if he was ready to jump into some sort of action.

I guess I should have known that they thought something would go wrong. Ellie had to be thinking along those lines. But I just assumed everything would be fine. That perhaps she was just afraid of going to Russia. But I was wrong again.

Our seating was not exactly optimal. I was sitting by the window seat, Kai beside me and Ellie beside him, in the aisle seat.

Tala sat in the seat across the aisle from Ellie. Kenny sat in front of me, with Max beside him, and then Tyson beside him.

I say it was not exactly the best because Ellie seemed to need to have people on either side of her, directly. She had sat down in the seat, and before Kai could help her buckle in, had moved to kneel in front of Kai with her head in his lap.

He had mumbled soothingly in Russian. I know this only because his tone was about the calmest and gentlest I had ever heard him speak. He had also laid his hand on her head and gently stroked through her bangs. The rest of her long hair had been braided to keep it out of the way.

Tala watched Kai with Ellie and seemed okay with it, if not still tense.

"Sir, if you wouldn't mind," A flight attendant said gently from the aisle to Kai, "She really needs to buckle up, we are going to take off soon." The woman smiled softly.

"She's afraid of planes." Kai said, still looking at Ellie.

The flight attendant seemed concerned for a moment. "Does she need something to help her relax? Could I get her something?" She leaned over and touched Ellie's shoulder gently, "Is there something I can do for you, hun?" She smiled softly, calmingly.

Ellie raised her head to look at the woman. I realized then that Ellie was actually shaking. "No… I'm… I'm 'kay." She mumbled softly.

"Are you sure?" The woman asked her, concern in her eyes. She seemed to be trying to read Ellie's face, "I'll be right back, okay? While I'm gone if you would get in the seat for me?" The woman smiled softly, gently rubbing Ellie's shoulder.

Ellie nodded and the flight attendant left. Kai held Ellie's hand as she slid up into the seat. He reached over her and buckled her in, then took her hand again. The flight attendant returned.

"There's really not much I can do, I'm sorry. But here's some water, it'll help calm you down." She handed the water to Ellie, who held it in one hand and took a sip of it. "And here, a blanket to clutch, I know it used to help me when I was scared." She laid a soft blue blanket in Ellie's lap. She watched as Ellie finished drinking the water and took the glass. "If there's anything else I can do, just tell me." She smiled at both of them.

"Thank you." Kai said with a nod. The attendant nodded back and left. "Ellie…" Kai whispered, looking at the girl. She looked up at him, clutching the blanket to her chest with one hand and clutching at Kai's hand with the other. "It's going to be okay."

Tala mumbled something in Russian and Ellie nodded. This led me to believe that he had at least said something not terrible. Ellie shut her eyes and leaned into Kai, breathing slowly, controlled.

"Is she going to be okay?" I ask Kai, who turns to look at me, worry in his eyes but a calm face.

"Yeah, she should be." He said softly.

And she was okay, as the plane took off. Though as soon as everyone was allowed to unbuckle, Kai undid her seat belt and she was curling up in his lap, eyes towards me, wide and scared. It almost made me afraid, as up to now I had only seen her angry or tired or neutral, but always strong in her own right. Now she was relying on Kai to keep her steady.

"Hey, Ellie, it is okay, huh?" I ask her, to which she gives no response. She doesn't even seem to know that I am there. Tala moved to sit beside Kai in Ellie's vacated seat. He said something to Kai in Russian and waited. Kai replied in the same. I had hoped we had moved past the Russian, but I guess not.

"Yo, whore." Someone said from the aisle, I looked up. It was Jaime. Ellie twitched and turned in Kai's lap.

"Ellie, don't…" Kai said. But Ellie crawled over Tala's lap and stood in the aisle, facing the blond girl. Tala stood up, as did Kai.

Kai moved around until he stood behind Ellie. He had one hand resting on her back.

"So you respond to that. I am not surprised. Playing with your humans. Sleeping with them." Jaime spat the words.

"I do not sleep like that. Not with them." Ellie responded with a low growl.

"You open your legs wide for them, I'm sure." Jaime growled in return. I noticed now that Jaime was at least two inches taller than Ellie. But Ellie did not seem to mind the height difference.

Ellie did not actually respond to this remark. Instead, she bared her fangs.

"But that doesn't surprise me either. You're a traitor to our race." Jaime's voice was lowering into a dangerous rumble.

"I wasn't traitor. It wasn't me." Ellie said with a hollow sigh.

"It's your fault Galen is dead." Jaime hissed, one of her hands fisted and neared Ellie.

"It's his fault, your brother caused it all. Not me. He said it. He told them." Ellie said softly.

"No! Galen is dead because you led them to us! You said where we were stationed! You should be dead! Not Galen!" Jamie yelled. People were starting to look up from what they were doing. Tala looked annoyed while Kai just looked worried. Flight attendants where approaching the group.

"He said it, not me. I said nothing. I told nothing." Ellie said softly, her eyes sad and empathetic.

"No! He would never do that!" And she slapped Ellie across the face. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I saw claws at the last minute, and I mean real claws. Ellie moved with the slap, but did not jerk away. Blood dripped down her left cheek, which I saw only a flash of as she turned her eyes to look at Jaime. "And because of you." She poked Ellie hard in the breastbone, enough to cause her to step back into Kai. Kai put his hands on her upper arms, holding her to himself. "Because of you, half our clan is dead." Jaime was seething and her voice, the most dangerous voice I had ever heard in my life, made me quiver. "If it hadn't been for your bastard human, you wouldn't be here either." She glared at Kai before turning her blue glare back to Ellie and I wondered what she meant.

"Excuse me." The flight attendant from before said, looking over Ellie and Kai's shoulders to Jaime. She had obviously been saying this for awhile because her face was slightly red, as if she was actually becoming the red that everyone figuratively sees when they are angry. "I need you all to go back to your seats, you are causing a disturbance on the plane." She touched Kai's arm softly, as if to get his attention, but she seemed to be speaking to Jaime. Tala nodded and slid into his seat, completely avoiding even slightly touching the still seething Jaime.

Jaime gave a low growl, glared at Ellie, said something in the language they had spoken in before, I think it was Romanian, and turned around and headed towards the back of the plane and other angry flight attendants.

"How about if you sit between Rei and me, Ellie?" He asked softly in her ear, his chin resting on her shoulder. Ellie nodded and he turned her enough so that she could walk between the seats in front of us and ours. He turned to the flight attendant. "Could you get us some water and a cloth to clean with?" The woman nodded and headed off. Kai sat down in what had been Ellie's seat, and Ellie finally sat down.

I could see the cuts now. They were rough and about two inches long, and there were four of them, parallel, or almost exactly parallel, to each other. Ellie seemed calm now at least.

"Here." I looked up at the flight attendant as she handed Kai a glass of water and a clean rag. She looked at Ellie, who was staring straight ahead at the back of the seat in front of her and then left.

"Ellie." Kai said softly as he balanced the water between his knees and let the rag lay in his lap. He touched the back of her neck with gentle fingers and cupped her chin with the other hand. He turned her head carefully. He took one corner of the rag and wiped off the still wet blood. He dipped another corner in the water and wiped the cuts clean. Ellie did not even twitch. Kai dried the wounds off with yet another corner and pressed the last against the wounds.

The flight attendant came by and took the glass, disappearing down the plane yet again. Kai kept one hand pressed onto the rag over the wound, while using the other to move the arm rest between them up and out of the way. He pulled her head into his lap and she lay there, curled over with his hand pressing down on her cheek.

I looked into Kai's face, he was just staring down at her, calm and relaxed for the first time since he came back to us.

"She'll be fine." Tala said from across the aisle. I looked up and realized he was speaking directly to me. "She heals pretty quickly. Should be fine in a day or two."

Ellie shifted so that she was laying more comfortably, but kept her head turned to face the seats in front of us. Kai was stroking her forehead with his right hand, while his left was still firmly pressed onto her cheek. Her eyes shut silently and Kai whispered something in Russian again.

-

We made it without further incident to the airport in Russia. At some point, Ellie had fallen asleep, I could tell this because her hands pawed in front of her and one of her feet twitched. Kai had smirked softly while he watched her do so.

He woke her gently once we had landed, though he was supposed to buckle her in when we were landing.

She sat up groggily and looked around. I smiled at her, to which she just blinked and looked at Kai. He stood up with her and led her out of the plane, Tala followed close behind them, looking around every now and again.

After we all got together outside of the airport, we found a car waiting for us. Well, more of a limo really. Inside, luckily, were coats for us to wear, though our Russian friends (Kai and Tala) and our Transylvanian visitor (Ellie) did not seem to mind the cold as much as us others.

The driver took us to a mansion, where he dropped us off.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

We spent a few days in the mansion, which turned out to be Kai's house, from which his grandfather was conveniently vacant.

I don't know if you remember my description of Ellie's original outfit, but she returned to that. The sweaters and the fur rimmed hoods, all black. She pulled her hair into a strange pony tail, one that made her hair look about half as long as it really was.

She returned to her avoidance and quiet self. Except when it began to snow. She had nearly bounced into the room that she, Kai, and Tala were all using as a bedroom, and I heard the bed squeak as she landed on it. (A question here… if it's Kai's mansion and it's huge, as it is, why are they still sharing a room? I don't have an answer to this yet. Maybe one of them can explain it to me?)

Someone gave a startled shout and then I heard rapid Russian being spoken. Ellie whipped out of the room a moment later, followed by an exhausted looking Tala and an exasperated Kai. She nearly ran right into Max, who stepped out of the way in time to avoid being run over.

When she ran past Kenny, he literally spun in a circle with the wind she had created running past him. She stopped at the door and yelled excitedly back to the two following her. Tala cursed under his breath, in an understandable language, and glared at Kai. Kai shrugged. Ellie disappeared outside into the snow, laughing for the first time.

Kai followed her out, not nearly as happy, while Tala stood in the doorway, watching the two.

I walked over to the door and cleared my throat. Tala did not even look up.

"I was wondering something." I said, despite him apparently ignoring me.

"Watch them." Tala said, pointing out into the field of white while yet more snow came down on them.

Ellie threw a snowball at Kai, which hit him in the side of the head. He picked up snow and launched it at her. It missed her, but only because she moved to the side at the last moment. She was laughing. He ran towards her and she bolted, though never further than a few feet from him.

"What did you want to know?" Tala asked, never stopping his watching of them.

"Why do you all share a room? I mean, it's a huge place." I replied, watching Kai in his child like behavior as he caught her arm and whipped her around.

"Heh, Ellie is a wolf. Wolves are used to sleeping with a pack." Tala said with a small, dark chuckle.

Kai had her by one arm as she laughed and pushed at him with the other hand. An easy smile played on Kai's mouth for the first time since I had met him.

"So you all sleep in one bed?" I ask, smiling at the two. It was easy to see that Kai cared for her much more than I think he cared about anything, except maybe Dranzer.

"Yeah." Tala's voice was soft, almost caring for once. "She's had it rough, between being accused of something she didn't do and then being saved by a human." Tala shook his head.

"Saved by a human?" I ask, feeling like I was on the verge of discovering why Ellie was with Kai.

Somehow Ellie freed herself from Kai and ran again, laughing, he chased her, about half-heartedly and stopped. She ran in an arch and came back behind him, she jumped up and nearly knocked him over as she scrambled into the position one needs for a piggyback ride. Kai caught her legs and held her still as she finalized her position on his back. She put her arms around his neck, loosely. Then she buried her face in the side of his neck. I saw his face tinge pink.

"I shouldn't say anything." Tala said with a sigh while running fingers trough his red hair. "And so I won't. It's Ellie's story, it's Kai's story. Not mine."

Kai walked with her back to the house, talking with her the whole time. He didn't seem to even notice me standing there.

Ellie giggled softly and her eyes showed such joy, the complete opposite of who she had been up until now. I saw her tongue flick out and it brushed Kai's neck. His face tinged pink again.

"Ellie… stop that." Kai mumbled.

"Why should I?" She asked, her eyes flicked up to Tala and me and her face fell. Kai stopped when he looked up at us. Ellie slid down his back and buried her face behind him.

"What are you two doing?" Kai asked us with a glare. It was amazing how fast he could change emotions.

"Spying, like always." Tala said lazily. He turned and left me there in the doorway, under the full glare of Kai.

"I expected better of you, Rei." Kai said to me. He led Ellie past me, her face still away from me and she was still hiding close to Kai. I felt bad, for 'spying' as Tala put it. But what else am I to do if I want to find out what is going on here?

I sighed and walked in, shutting the door behind me.

I should learn lessons quicker than I do. I really should. I went to go apologize and found them in their room. They were sitting on the bed, Kai leaning forward as he brushed her bangs out of her face. Ellie looked upset; she wasn't even looking at him. He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly on the lips. She pulled away and I stepped away from the door; she came out the door and went down the hall. I looked back in the room, at Kai.

He was sitting in the same place but had his face in his hands. He suddenly shook his head and ran both hands through his hair, as if he didn't know what to do or what he should have done.

He stood up and walked around in the room. "Stupid. I'm so stupid." He shook his head and neared the dresser against the wall. He slammed a fist down on it's top. "She wouldn't want a human. She'd want a wolf…" He gritted his teeth and then shook his head again. "I'm so stupid." He walked over to the wall and just leaned against it. He looked so upset, and it was just strange to see him like that.

I walked away and followed where Ellie had went. I lost her when I turned a corner, so I turned around, intending to go back.

"You're following me." Ellie said, suddenly in front of me, which had been behind me. She tilted her head to the side. "Why?" Her violet eyes looked dead, pained, but mostly empty.

"I… well…" I stuttered out. She looked over her shoulder toward the room Kai was in.

"Come on." She said, walking past me, away from Kai's room. I followed her slow pace and she lead me to a very large library. She walked in and over to one of the shelves, pulling out a few books. She walked back over and laid the books down. She looked up at me and so I walked over to her.

She sat down at the small table and I sat down across from her. She opened one of the books. "I am having trouble with your language. With reading it." She showed me a book printed entirely in Chinese.

"So…?" I asked, not following.

"Will you help me?" She asked, eyes down as if she were embarrassed to be asking.

"Why do you want to learn?" I ask.

"I get bored, staying here. I am here a lot. When Kai is away, I can't go anywhere for the fear someone will find me." Her violet gaze flicked up to me. "I have found that learning languages and reading the books printed in those languages to be extremely fascinating." She touched one of the other books. "I have succeeded in reading Japanese, though my speaking of it is limited, since Kai and Tala usually only speak Russian here. I have learned to speak Chinese, as there is a servant here who speaks it. However, reading it is another matter."

"You speak it well." I said, realizing that she had been speaking it again. She switched languages so easily. "But I would ask something of you in return."

She tilted her head as if asking me to continue.

"I don't understand Russian and you all speak it constantly. I'm tired of not understanding." I sigh when I finish this.

"You wish… to learn Russian?" She asked, a small smile touching her lips and I suddenly understood how someone could like her. She was beautiful in her way, a gentle strange, yet violent way. Her entire body and face showed how she felt and who she was. It was such a complete way to be, such an innocent way to be.

"Yes." I smiled at her and she nodded and laughed softly. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded in assent. "Do you like Kai?"

Her face fell and she just looked at me for a long time. "I… he is a friend to me… he takes care of me. He saved my life. I am grateful. I like him to that extent. He is a great friend. And I try to treat him as humans treat each other… it is hard to not…" She paused and shook her head.

"To not what?" I understand that Kai wants her. But that he thinks that it isn't possible, but to discover a reason would be interesting.

"Treat him as I would a…" She paused and seemed to be searching for a word.

"Wolf?" I supply.

"Yes." She nods as if to assure herself that this is truly the word that she wants. She falls quiet and looks down at the page she has opened and I think she really wasn't paying attention to the book. "But I know… he cares for me differently than I can care for him." Her violet eyes came up and brushed at my gaze. "I don't want… to hurt him." There was a blankness to her voice and face, but in her eyes was such pain, such agony. I got the feeling she cared for him either more than she realized or more than she could admit.

"You won't." I say, because I'm not sure what else to say. I wasn't about to tell her what he had done in the room after she left.

She got up suddenly and it scared me so bad I jumped, nearly out of the seat I was in. She looked over the books on the shelves and slid one out gently. She walked over and laid it down on the table. She shut the other book and put the books in a neat stack at the side of the table.

"Here." She pointed at the book with symbols in it that I did not understand. I looked at it and I felt my face express my confusion, not that I wanted it to. "It's Russian."

And thus we began our language lessons. She taught me from the book, showing me both how to read and to speak. She taught me from Chinese speech to Russian, so it proved that she had a good handle on the language, better than I thought she would.

I began showing her how to read Chinese and helped her polish her Japanese. However, I am getting ahead of myself. It's just something we've been doing for a week or so. So it was always going on in the background.

I guess I should continue with the story at a normal rate, instead of generalizing it like that.

-

After we were done in the library for the first 'session,' Ellie put the books back in their proper places and we walked out to the dining room, as one of the servants had informed us that dinner was ready.

Ellie sat down between Kai and me, with Tala on Kai's other side.

Kai looked at Ellie as she sat down with a grace that, had we been in a monarchial society, should have belonged only to the princess or queen. She sat just as stiffly, I noticed, as Kai and Tala did. They were all on their toes, so to speak, about something. I would have liked to know, but Kai spoke in Russian to her. I picked out some words, such as 'you' and when Ellie answered, 'I' and 'library.' Kai spoke again and he seemed to be unhappy about something. Ellie shrugged and looked down at her plate, which had what appeared to be a very raw steak, a very large, very raw steak. She didn't seem as distressed as I would have been, but if she really is a wolf, and they are anything like real wolves, why should she care?

Max and Tyson had already finished two plates and were eating thirds when Ellie finally began eating. Kai didn't seem so interested in eating and when Tala asked him something, he just slid the plate over to the redhead. Kai seemed content to lean on the table on one of his elbows, watching Ellie, who ignored his stare.

Tala said something over Kai, which made Ellie glare over at him. Tala was suddenly sounding very angry and Ellie growled beside me. Her hand clutched at the fork and knife until her knuckles were whiter than usual.

Kai looked at her warily. Tala continued on in his angry tone. Suddenly Ellie interrupted him. And I knew she was mad because she was running through about four languages all at once, as if she were forgetting which words were for which language.

I saw the metal instruments in her hands bend slightly. Kai was wincing, so I supposed he caught most of what she said, however, I was still in the dark as to the meaning.

She got up suddenly and the chair squealed against the wooden floor. She tossed the utensils down onto her half eaten steak and left. Her steps were heavy and annoyed. I glanced at Kai; he looked tired and defeated.

He mumbled something in Russian, though he did not turn to look at Tala.

Tala replied with that still angry tone. Kai got up and left, walking the opposite way that Ellie had. Tala just glanced around at everyone and at the exits and then continued to eat.

Tyson and Max had by this time vacated the room, and only Tala, Kenny and I remained.

"Tala…? What did you say to her?" I asked gently. His eyes flicked up to my face then back down to his plate. I didn't think he was going to answer me.

"I told her she's stupid for not being with Kai. That she's just a brainless, senseless she-wolf suited for nothing but whoring herself out." Tala said this all flatly. His eyes flicked up to me. "And I told her she shouldn't screw a cat." I gritted my teeth together.

"Why did you say that?" I ask through clenched teeth.

"She said she was in the library with a cat. Which meant you. Kai wanted to know what she was doing. She didn't reply." Tala glared at me. "You shouldn't mess with that girl. She maybe witless, but she's dangerous. And she's Kai's pup." Tala took a bite of food. "It isn't right the way she treats him. She flirts with him and then when he tries to do the same, she rejects it."

"Maybe she doesn't know what she's doing." I replied, playing with the fork on my empty plate.

"Oh, she knows alright. She just likes hurting him." Tala glared at the plate as if it were Ellie. "She's just a stupid bitch and if she weren't female everything would be okay." He looked up at me again. "I've told her as much."

"Why would you say anything like that?" I asked, trying not to sound as disgusted at him as I felt.

"Because if she were a guy, Kai wouldn't want her the way he does." Tala replied lightly with a shrug. He looked down at his plate again.

"I don't think you should say things like that in front of Kai." I said, leaning on one arm with my elbow on the table.

"He's used to it." Was Tala's only reply.

I looked over at Kenny, the boy just shrugged as if to say, 'I'm not a part of this.' I shook my head as I looked back at Tala. Then I got up and left because I couldn't stand the thought of being in the same room as Tala at the moment.

-

It was much later, a few days actually, with a long session of language learning each day, when I walked out into what the servants called a garden. Now I'm not sure how anything covered in snow like that could be considered a garden, as it wasn't green at all.

However, Kai was sitting out there on a bench. Alone.

I walked over and stood in front of the bench. "Do you mind if I join you?" I ask softly and he looks up at me then away. He gave only a shrug in response, so I sat down.

We sat in silence for a long time.

"Kai, can I talk to you about something?" I ask, looking over to the silent Russian beside me.

"If you want to." He didn't look at me while he spoke.

"Well, it's about Ellie. And I didn't know if you would let me." I said warily.

"Speak to Ellie about Ellie." He replied.

"It's not that kind of thing." I said with a sigh, he still was not looking over at me. "You like her." He tensed. "So why can't you be with her? I mean… I heard you talking in your room a few days ago and you said she wouldn't want a human… why not?" I waited and he said nothing. His hands curled together and then apart.

"She's a wolf. She would want a relationship with only one person. They take mates for life, Rei."

"As do humans." I said.

"It's… different. Their mates… wolves know what they like and therefore what their… partner likes. They can just tell." He sighed. "I can't be there for her in ways that a wolf could." He paused. "Even if we made it a permanent relationship… she would want to continue her line. Have children. I don't know if I want children. And even if we decided to… who would they be like and how would they be raised?" He looked down at his hands. "Would they be brilliant like Ellie, in which case she would have others of her kind, but they would also be outcasts in their own society. Or would they be more like me and then be outcasts in human society for being wolf even a little bit?" He looked up. "She needs someone who can always watch out for her, who can be family." His hands separated and pressed into his knees. "I don't think I can be." His eyes looked out past everything in front of him and I had the distinct impression that he really wasn't seeing anything in front of him.

He drew in a deep breath as if the next thing he was about to say was hard for him. "Even when she came here the first time… wolves sleep together from the time they are born. Not together like the human meaning, but literally beside each other, curled into or around or against each other. The first time she was here and she asked about it… I didn't understand at first, because her Russian wasn't very good at all. But when she finally made herself understood, I told her no. That's because I was uncomfortable with that idea." He stopped talking and it left me feeling like he meant to say more.

"But you got used to that, right? So why wouldn't you get used to the other?" I asked softly.

"I got used to that. When I found her in the room I had given her, curled up in the corner because she was petrified of a new place where she was alone. That's when I got used to that." He shook his head. "Wolves aren't allowed to marry humans. They are taught not to since they are little. Humans are bad, dangerous, tell them nothing, hide from them. But she needs the consent of her family." He paused and tilted his head back. "I don't even know if she has family."

I nodded and then realized that he couldn't see, "That makes it difficult." We sat there for just a moment before we heard Tala coming toward us. And I know it was Tala because he was muttering curse words under his breath in Russian. I didn't tell you that my Russian understanding had gotten better, even if my speech had not, did I? Well, it had, and Ellie had taught me to recognize and understand curse words. Mainly because I had asked her what Tala was always saying. She had smirked and taught me what she could. At least what words she knew either the Chinese or Japanese equivilant for. Otherwise she just taught me to recognize them.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked, in Russian I might (happily) add. I am so glad Ellie was teaching me these things.

"Ellie. She's a bitch. Why can't you just like someone else?" That was one of the words Ellie had taught me. I was keeping myself from smirking because I finally understood.

"Tala…" Kai said with a deep sigh, bringing himself to standing.

"Well she is. I just wish she was a man, or looked like one. Then you wouldn't want her fucking body." I had to keep from twitching as Ellie came out suddenly.

She had something in her hand.

Kai turned around just as Ellie came up behind Tala.

"Tala." Kai said, indicating behind him. Tala turned around, glaring at her.

"You want me to look like a man? Fine!" She spat the words at him, then pulled her hair in front of her and cut it short with one very harsh jerking motion with the dagger that had been in her hand. She held out the long mass of hair to him, the uneven ends of the hair on her head, now coming down to the middle of her neck, and the shortest coming to the bottom of her jaw. "Here! Now I look bad! This is what you want! Me to not look good!"

Tala's jaw twitched. "That… it doesn't make a difference!" He replied harshly.

"What should I do then? Cut the breasts from my body?" She held the dagger threateningly over her female anatomy. "Huh? Tell me how I can make it easier for your disgusting wants!" She was growling.

"Ellie…" Kai said, and I heard his want in his voice. "Ellie please stop." He walked around the bench and towards them. "There's no reason for this." He said as he reached them.

"Yes, yes there is! He hates my guts and I'm sick of it! You want me to be a guy? Treat me like I'm one!" She glared into Tala's voice.

"Fine!" And he punched her in the jaw without warning. She fell back slightly. Then got her footing and punched him hard in the jaw.

Kai's face suddenly said that he was angry, the way his eyes darkened and looked at the yelling pair told me he was beyond angry.

"Stop it! Damnit! Both of you shut up!" He actually threw his hands up in the air.

Both of them stopped and looked at him. Ellie looked away as soon as his dark angry eyes met hers. Tala met his gaze coolly, as if he had done nothing wrong.

Kai let his breath out slowly, his face showing his emotion change. "Can't you… can't you two just get along for a little while?" He asked, shaking his head and turning away. Ellie looked up to him, though he was now walking away. He stopped suddenly. "Come on, Ellie, let's go fix your hair." He said tiredly. The girl, suddenly seeming like a child, looked up at Tala, and then away. She dropped the dagger and the mass of hair and followed Kai as he continued walking. Tala looked down at the items now at his feet, stooped and picked them up. He followed them, but he seemed out of it.

I went in last.

-o-o-o-o-

At last our time there was up. And a car was sent for us, the car took us to a small airport. The plane we got in was big enough for all of us as well as our bags and our pilot and copilot.

Ellie sat beside Kai, away from the window. Her hair looked okay, wild and spiky and short. Kai had evened it out for her and cut the sides shorter as well as the back that was at the top of her head. Most of it was no longer than a few inches, and all of it stuck out randomly. She seemed okay with it.

Anyhow, we were on our way over to Ireland. We weren't even out of Russia yet and Tyson had fallen asleep. Max was getting there and Kenny was just relaxing. Tala was looking out the window to his right, his arms crossed.

The two Russians and Ellie seemed back on even footing, at least calm footing, and so it was relatively quiet. I had just closed my eyes when the plane jerked.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

The plane was jerking roughly. It seemed to bounce in the air and I saw Ellie pale. Kai pulled her close to him. "It's okay, it's okay. Everything's fine." He whispered, stroking her short hair. Her violet eyes were shut and she was gripping one of Kai's legs.

Suddenly the plane dropped down. Ellie whimpered loudly and Tyson woke up. Max was already gripping the seat arms and Kenny was clutching his laptop in one hand and the arm rest with the other.

Even Tala and I were hanging on to the seat as the plane dropped again.

"It's okay." Kai kept mumbling. Ellie was clawing now, scratching at anything non-moving as she whimpered louder.

"Quit telling her that, Kai." Tala said, looking out the window.

"Why?" He asked, looking at his friend.

Tala lowered his voice even though he was speaking in Russian. "The plane is going down, Kai."

"No, it's not." Kai replied, grabbing at Ellie's hands and effectively capturing them in one of his hands.

Tala unbuckled and stood up, grabbing at the seats as the plane dropped again. He walked forward unsteadily, having to stop every now and then as the plane dropped at irregular intervals. He made it to the cockpit and opened the door. He came back looking pale.

He quickly buckled in and held on. He spoke in Japanese. "I would suggest you all hold on." Then he switched to Russian. "Kai, hold Ellie still." Tala looked at Kai. Kai wrapped his arms around Ellie.

Then the plane went down harder. It was dropping too fast. Something had to be wrong.

Ellie had stopped whimpering and was leaning into Kai as he held her as close as the seatbelts would allow.

And suddenly it stopped. Then the cockpit broke apart and part of the passenger section tore off. Trees could be seen. And we heard as well as felt the jolt as we hit the ground hard. We rocked and jerked. I don't know who was screaming and who wasn't. I lost sight of everything for awhile.

-o-o-o-o-

I woke up to the sound of fire. In fact, that was the only light I saw.

It was dark where we were. The forest was ominous and too dark. But I was outside of the plane. In fact, I don't even see the plane.

I stood up slowly, feeling the bones in my ankles grate. Suddenly someone grabbed my arm.

"You shouldn't stand up, Rei." It was Max, and that would have been more comforting had he not had red in his hair, on his forehead and on his cheek. He looked like he had been rolled around in dirt as well. "Kai said you'd been knocked out, we wanted to make sure you didn't get a concussion or break your neck or back or something." He sounded worried.

"What's… wrong, Maxie?" I asked softly, smiling lightly, trying to show him I felt fine.

"The plane crashed. Tala said something about the pilot. Ellie led us here. She looked bad. Kai didn't look so good either. The plane's ruined and they aren't here. And I've been sitting awake by myself for a while now." His voice was shaking, and belatedly, I realized that he was too.

"It's okay, Max, I'm awake now." I said, though I heard my voice shake too as I looked around. Tyson and Kenny were asleep on the ground. Tala was leaning against the trunk of a tree, close to the fire. Kai and Ellie were no where to be seen. Suddenly, I felt pain run up my legs. "Let's… let's sit." I said, feeling my legs quake as I lowered myself down on to the ground. Max sat quicker than I did, right beside me.

I heard steps coming towards us. I looked ahead of me and saw Kai, followed by Ellie, come out of the forest. They spoke in whispers to the now awake Tala. Maybe he was already awake. I don't really know. And I don't know what they were saying.

Ellie looked over all of a sudden, her eyes seemed to glow in the firelight. Her eyes met mine. She touched Kai's arm and he looked up too. I saw her turn to Kai. They continued to speak quietly.

Tala sighed and got up slowly, stiffly. He went with Ellie while Kai woke Kenny up and then tried to rouse Tyson. By the time he had woken Tyson, Ellie and Tala had returned with some water, how they carried it, I don't know. It was too dark and I was too tired to figure it out.

They put it out as Tyson and Kenny stood. Max got up as Kai came over to us.

"You okay, Rei?" He asked me, offering a hand.

"Yeah." I said, taking the hand and allowing him to pull me up. He looked worse than Max. There was a very deep cut on his cheek and there was blood on his shirt. His lower lip was split and the side of his head looked to be bruising. He nodded as I gained my feet.

"We're going to move to a safer place." Kai said to Kenny, Tyson, Max, and I. "Ellie knows this place better than I do. We're going to have to trust that she knows what she's doing." He looked at each of us. None of us disagreed.

Ellie walked over and laid a hand on Kai's arm. He looked at her. She brushed at her nose with the other hand, wiping away fresh blood from it. My best guess is that the blood on Kai's shirt was from Ellie, as he was clutching her close to him.

She looked at each of us. Then she turned away and walked slowly. Kai looked at Max, who followed Ellie. Then Kenny went, Tyson went, followed by Tala, then I went, Kai bringing up the rear.

We walked for what had to be at least a half-hour, probably more. It was over bad terrain, up and down, rocky, slippery, and snow covered. Brambles were on either side of the trail Ellie was using. Trail is a loose word. It's not really the word, I'm not sure what you'd call it though.

Kai and I lost sight of the others. Kai froze when he realized it. I wanted to keep on, but he was holding onto my arm.

Ellie appeared in front of us. She looked at me. "The others are in the cave. There's nothing living there right now." She walked over to us. "You're almost there." She whispered, taking my hand and leading me with Kai following close behind.

In no more than five minutes from that point, we were there.

And it was a cave. A real cave. The others were there too. Or already, I guess. I had the feeling that they were worried about me. But they didn't show it.

Ellie lead me into the cave with everyone else laying down in it already. I sat down and she watched me, even in the dark she could see me. I saw her outline leave and walk over to where two other outlines stood. It must have been Kai and Tala.

Ellie was smaller than both of them, and I saw her sit down. She didn't lay down until the other two did, and then it turned into one mass outline.

-o-o-o-o-

I woke up to hear people getting up. Light came into the cave, and the smell of cooking meat.

I rose and walked outside.

There was a small fire, which Kai was looking after, throwing small sticks and leaves onto it every now and again. There was something on a stick, which he kept turning every few moments. His entire focus was on the fire however, and Tyson was moving about at the edge of the tree line, though Kai took no apparent notice.

Max was watching Tyson anxiously.

I felt some pain in my ankle, but it only made me hobble a bit as I walked over to the fire and sat down across from Kai.

I looked over at Kai just as Tala and Ellie came out of the forest.

Instead of arguing, Tala was just trailing behind Ellie, seemingly deep in thought. Ellie, on the other hand, seemed more concerned, though she appeared to be trying to hide it.

Her violet eyes flipped up to Tyson, who was still pacing back and forth.

Her lip raised slightly, but it was as if she had no energy to carry it out. She continued walking until she was near Kai, then sat down beside him. Tala sat on her other side.

Kai raised his gaze and looked at her.

"Ellie?" He asked softly.

"Tala…" She began, then her gaze flipped up to me, then back to the fire. She knew I was listening, even though they were speaking in Russian. "He will take the others…" She paused and then her breath shuddered and her eyes shut.

Kai watched her. I could tell she was worried, but I did not know about what. And Kai was worried too, but it seemed to be more over Ellie than anything else.

Kai looked to me, and so did Tala. They both knew something I did not.

Ellie leaned into Kai's lap, laying her head there as if she did this all the time. I saw the conflict they faced for a moment, clear as day. She cared about him, and he for her, but something held both of them back from saying it.

Tala's gaze sharpened as he turned toward Tyson.

"Stop that!" He growled out. Tyson flinched and came over to the fire. Max was already sitting on one of the sides, Kenny beside him.

I realized that I was struggling to stay awake, that my eyes kept shutting. I lost focus for a moment, then decided it would just be best to close them and sleep.

-o-o-o-o-

I woke to the feeling of someone brushing hair out of my face. When I opened my eyes, Ellie was there, staring at me.

She had taken a small cloth, likely from someone's clothing, and put water on it; she was washing my face off and had stopped to push hair from my eyes.

"Kai…" She raised her gaze from my face for a moment, looking above me but also behind me. "He's awake." Her gaze came down to my face. Worry touched her eyes, but I got the sense that it was not just for me.

I began to sit up, but suddenly someone was pushing me back down.

"Lay down Rei." It was Kai. Ellie had apparently not told him that she had taught me some Russian, because he was speaking Japanese.

"We're going to have to go soon, Kai." Her voice betrayed fear; it was shaking. "Tala has gotten the others as far as he can, but he can't remain there and we can't stay… not here." Her Japanese was definitely better; she must have been listening closely to the nuances.

Kai was silent for a long time. "How long?" His voice was soft, kind. "How long can we stay here?"

Ellie gave a small sigh. She rubbed at my cheek with the wet cloth. "Can you eat now?" She asked me softly.

"Yes?" I replied, again trying to sit up.

Ellie frowned and her violet eyes seemed dim. She got up and retrieved something from a few feet away.

"Ellie?" Kai whispered to her. "How long?" He had walked over to her, laid a hand on her side as she bent to pick something up.

She looked at him and I got a very clear look at her face. "A day… two at the most…" There was pain there, fighting its way across her features. "Tala can't show them the way."

"You're going to exhaust yourself." Kai said, following her as she came to me.

"Lean against the rock." She told me, and I followed her directions, scooting back a foot or so until I was leaning back on the rock. She handed me the meat from earlier.

"Go lead the others out." Kai suggested. There was pain in his face.

"And leave you here?" She asked, kneeling near me. Kai's hand was touching her short hair in a gentle way.

Kai said nothing for a long moment.

"A human and a neko-jin in the heart of wolf territory, Kai. Do you know how long you would last?" She would not even look at Kai. Her eyes were so dull. I could do little more than eat the meat she handed me. It wasn't even that I felt hungry. I just did not have the energy to do more.

Kai knelt beside her. He put his chin on her shoulder and spoke softly into her ear. "You won't last at your pace."

Ellie said nothing, her gaze fell down to the floor. I realized that she had made a decision, which was destroying her, but I only had some small idea what it was.

"Ellie, please." Kai whispered, stroking her hand with one of his own.

"No." Her voice shook, her eyes shut. "I won't leave either of you." She looked away from him.

Neither of them said anything more. Both just rose and walked two different directions. Kai walked back toward the cave, and Ellie walked toward the forest.

There was no anger between them, no frustration, just an endless feeling of pain. I could feel it in the air. The little bit of hope, the pain, and the need.

Ellie disappeared into the forest. Kai put his hand on the rock wall as if to steady himself, then came back and sat next to me.

"What is Ellie doing?" I asked softly.

Kai pulled his knees up and rested his arms on his knees.

"She is scouting for Tala, who is leading the others out of here." He said flatly.

I became confused, but it made sense, as I had seen no one but Ellie and Kai for the past few minutes I had been awake.

"She won't leave, Rei." His voice was full of pain. "She won't save herself." His head hung forward.

"She's a wolf…" I said flatly. Then I realized this said almost nothing. "… I would assume… she would have some type of loyalty to the 'pack.'"

Kai was quiet for a long time, and I assumed he would say no more. I was having trouble processing, so I just said nothing because I was trying to figure everything out.

"Kai… is she leading them and then…" I paused, trying to straighten out my thoughts.

"She keeps coming back here." He paused, then looked out at the forest. "It's almost a day's trip to where they are, but she keeps going, scouting, leading Tala so he can lead the others. She's hunting for them and us." He paused again. "It would be so much easier…" He broke off.

"If she just went with them?" I asked.

He looked at me, then looked away. Neither of us said anything for a long time.

"Kai…" I began, he did not look at me. He was listening to something. I strained to hear what he was, and it should have been easy. Something in me was exhausting me. Something was wrong with me, I realized for the first time.

My eyelids slid shut.

-o-o-o-o-

The next time I opened my eyes there was rapid Russian speech going back and forth, too fast and too deep in vocabulary for me to understand.

I opened my eyes. It was nighttime, but there was no fire. I shivered. Then I rose to my feet, wobbling. I braced myself on a rock.

The voices were low and still fast. The one was picking up speed frantically, and I recognized Ellie's voice. Kai's voice was trying to be calming. He was not managing to calm her down.

The moon was up, round and wide in the sky above me. It showed many things, including Ellie lying in Kai's lap, his hand moving slowly through her hair. Her hands kept moving frantically, as if she were explaining something, something immensely important.

Her violet eyes flicked to me, haunting and glowing in the moon-lit night. Her hands stopped and she pushed herself out of Kai's reach in one smooth motion.

She approached me, and I watched her absently, noting how beautiful and animal-like she was in her movements. I felt Kai's gaze on me, but I could not look away from Ellie.

She reached me, stood in front of me, stared up into my face.

"Gods…" I muttered. I was about to continue, but she reached up and brushed a hand across my cheek. It was so brief, but it felt so cool to my skin.

Concern touched her face. She turned her head a bit and said to Kai over her shoulder, "He is very warm. I think he has a …" She said something else, but my ears were messing up. She turned back to me as Kai rose to his feet. "Rei, just come a litt…" Her mouth kept moving, she reached out and took my free arm. Her violet eyes… I could drown in those violet eyes.

Kai was standing beside us now. I don't know how he got here so fast…

"Rei. You're running a fever." Kai said softly to me, it was the first thing which I had heard completely. "Come lay down." He said, also taking my arm, but he put this over his shoulders and wrapped one of his arms around my waist.

I walked with him, Ellie close to us, watching with the greatest concern I had ever seen on her face.

We were back in the cave, and Kai was helping me lay down. It was so unlike him…

"We need to get the neko-jin scent off of him… Or at least mask it as much as possible." Ellie said in Japanese, which was good, I was having trouble remembering Russian at the moment.

"What would you suggest?" Kai asked her softly, still looking at me.

Something flashed in Ellie's face. It was not a pleasant something.

Kai somehow understood, and just nodded. He lay down on one side of me, and Ellie the other, and we lay as I had seen them do with Tala, all together. I got the feeling that Ellie was used to being in the middle, and thus she was very uncomfortable.

I didn't want to sleep… but I couldn't stay awake…

-o-o-o-o-

I woke up with Ellie staring into my face. I still felt very strange.

"Eat this." Ellie said simply, holding something green to my mouth. She looked up away from me as I took it from her and began to eat the pro-offered leaves. "Kai… we have to go. Now." Her voice held a hint of franticness, which surprised me. There was worry on her features, an overwhelming worry. She looked back at me, then stood up, and looked at who I could only assume was Kai.

I started to try to rise, but before I could, someone had picked me up. I struggled weakly, only to see it was Kai who held me.

"Rei… Kai will have to carry you. You're fever is too bad. You're too sick." Ellie whispered softly in Chinese. She looked at Kai, and nodded. He nodded back. She turned and began walking.

Kai followed her as she entered the forest. All I could see were the trees above us. I could feel myself dozing off again, and I tried to focus on staying awake, but I started to drift off, and before I knew it…

-o-o-o-o-

"Get away from her!" It was Kai's voice, yelling in Russian.

I found myself on the floor, somewhere I did not recognize. It was cold here, and I realized I did not have a coat on any longer.

I sat up, the best I could, because I felt dizzy, and saw men holding Kai still, though he was struggling hard. He looked so angry and worried… and scared.

We were surrounded with pale people, people who reminded me of Ellie the more I looked at them. They were all harsh looking, some of them had her violet eyes, and all had a ragged look about them, as if they had seen hardships in a great number.

I could not see Ellie, but I could hear the mutterings of people near me, speaking a language I did not know.

"Please, speak a language they understand." Came Ellie's voice.

"Why should we. Angel?" I saw Jamie, her blue eyes narrowed and dangerous. She radiated anger, her body stiff.

Someone shoved someone else further, and I saw Ellie land roughly on her hands and knees. She looked blankly up at Jamie.

"Why should we listen to a traitor?" Jamie howled out in Russian.

There were murmurs of agreement.

"Because…" Ellie wiped blood from her bleeding lip. Kai was fuming. "They don't know what's going on. And it's unfair to keep prisoners, who have done nothing wrong themselves, unknowing of why they are being punished." She paused, glared at Jamie, then tried to stand. Someone kicked her in the back and she fell back down. "Or their punishment." Ellie finished.

Jaime smirked and looked at me and then Kai. "They don't know? Or just the him?" She pointed to me.

"Jaime!" A man's voice came out bitterly above the crowd. He was a very tall, muscular man, as I saw when he stepped forward. "Angel, regardless of whether she is a traitor or not, has a good point." He wore only black jeans, torn open at the knees. He looked pointedly at Kai and I. "They have a right to know what is being said about them. Even if they aren't wolves."

The men holding Kai forced him to the ground. Yet Kai was looking only at Ellie. Something was being expressed between them that I could not read.

"Please… don't hurt them." Ellie said, looking straight at Kai.

"We will not." The man said, looking at Ellie with a strange expression. His body language had changed, but I could not read it.

"But, Costel…" Jaime began.

"Do NOT challenge me, child." Costel snarled at Jaime.

Jaime's gaze, now insolent, dropped to the ground. She made no moves what so ever.

Ellie's gaze dropped as well. Kai followed her lead and dropped his gaze.

Costel turned toward Ellie. "Allow her up." He said to the girl who had kicked her in the back earlier. Costel's dark black hair came down to his shoulders, he shook his head and it fluttered about for a moment. "Stand, Angel." Ellie rose, but did not look up. Her body shouted submission, but there was a small brush of threat that I could feel. "Right now, we mean no harm to you or your… companions." Costel walked toward her. "For now, I will hold a meeting with the seconds. We will discuss what we think we should do. Until then, you all will be placed in a room under guard. You in particular will not be allowed out. The other two will be allowed out only under supervision." He glared at her, but it was a hollow glare. "They are not wolves, Angel. And we will be calling you in to speak with you. They have no say, as is our custom." He turned to the rest of the people gathered around.

"Viorica, Viorel, Remus, Petro, and Nicolae. You will accompany the three to the room they will be staying in." I saw the two men holding Kai nod. Two females appeared close to Ellie, and another male neared me. "The rest of you leave. Go to your business." Costel looked around the room, making sure everyone left. Jaime took her time leaving, and Costel watched her leave, looking nothing less than fuming. Once everyone was gone, except for the people he had called out, he looked at Ellie.

"Angel, you play a dangerous game." His look softened. "Yet, you are still part of this pack. And while I am still Alpha, I will not allow us to deteriorate into factions." He shook his head. "There are those that will choose Jaime over me, and others who shall choose me over Jaime." He looked at Kai and I, "For their sake, you best hope more of them will choose me." He looked at the five guards. "Take them away."

The two men pushed Kai along, and the one with me helped me to my feet.

"Costel…" Ellie said softly. "He is hurt. Can I… would you help him get better, at least enough that he is capable of…" She said something else, but it was in looked at me, then he nodded. "I will see what can be done."

Ellie nodded quietly. She did not fight as the two female wolves lead her out of the large room. Kai followed quietly as well. I was about to start walking when Costel stopped us.

"You… Jaime knows what you are, but others do not. Keep your head down and do as Angel tells you." He looked toward the door Ellie and Kai had left through and said no more.

I looked around as I kind of stumbled alongside my guard, looking around at the "room" we had been in. It reminded me of the Roman architecture, many columns supporting a roof. It was basically like a covered room with no walls. The floor was some sort of stone, and so was the ceiling.

I stumbled and the man caught me, I stood up again, and took the steps slow. The wolf never complained, despite the fact that I was walking slowly and looking around as if a tourist. We had entered a hallway with stone walls and lights above us in the ceiling. Some how these people… the wolves… got some electricity out here, as the lights showed. But mostly there were lanterns at every corner.

There were many doors that we walked by, all wooden and heavy looking. I knew I would get lost in this place, because everything looked the same to me. Finally we came to an open door, which the male wolf pointed towards.

I stumbled inside, to find Kai and Ellie there. Kai was watching Ellie, who was just staring at the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

The door closed behind me, but I did not watch it close, instead, I sat down where I was standing.

Neither of them moved, neither said anything.

"I don't understand." I finally said. Confused at what had happened and even more confused about being imprisoned. I waited, but neither seemed inclined to say anything.

The door opened, one of the female wolves whom escorted Ellie entered.

"This is… for you? Yes…" She said, holding out a bowl toward me.

"I'm not hungry." I said.

"Rei." Ellie said sharply. "Take it. Eat it. It will help you." She looked up at the girl. "Thank you, Viorica."

Viorica nodded and left the soup in front of me. She gave Ellie a sympathetic look and left. As the door shut, I heard her murmur a word. Ellie looked back down at the ground.

"Ellie…" Kai whispered, reaching out to her. "This isn't your fault."

"Yes it is Kai!" She snapped back, looking at him. There was pain in her face. "It has to be. If you had not been with me… If…" Tears suddenly welled in her eyes, but she seemed to be struggling to not let them fall.

"If you had not been with us, we would have gotten lost. Tala, Max, Tyson, and Kenny would be here too. You can't control what has happened Ellie, but you have helped." Kai told her, scooting closer to her.

"If you had not… If…" Her voice told how hurt she really was. She closed her eyes as Kai hugged her to him.

"You would have died Ellie." He spoke into her ear, and I could no longer see her face, because she was facing the opposite wall.

I looked at the soup, then thought back to what Costel had told me not but a few moments ago. I ate it, mostly trying to just swallow it down, as there was no spoon.

"Ellie… are you alright?" Kai asked her softly, stroking her hair quietly.

"He should know." Ellie said. I put the bowl down, surprised that she was now facing me, but not looking at me.

Kai said nothing, he just looked at Ellie, hiding his concern again. His face was his usual mask, and Ellie took on the same look I had seen the first time we had met, back at the hotel in Japan.

"I was with Galen. We were messing around near a human city. We were just having fun, and he was a few years older than me. We were with a few of our other friends at the time, and Jaime was here doing chores." Ellie looked at the door as if seeing something more than the sparse room. "Their were a lot of people in this small town. Many people stop there when traveling on the train, and so it was very crowded. We had found our way into one of the inns, and Galen had taken interest in one of the human women. We weren't far from where Kai grew up, a couple miles."

"Tala, me and a few others were visiting the town, just looking around for someone to battle." Kai threw in. "We heard a commotion at the bar."

"Galen had gone up to the woman serving the other people in the inn. He tried to tell her she was beautiful. But she saw his teeth. The canines. She dropped her tray and screamed amar de la sine." Ellie shivered, but her face was still harsh, and her eyes were growing harsher as she recounted the story.

"We went into the bar, mostly because Tala wanted to see if he could join in the fight." Kai said bitterly.

"The men there… most of them had daggers. They grabbed us, and since we aren't allowed to draw attention to ourselves, we were not allowed, by wolf law, to fight back. They held our hands behind our backs. They kicked us, punched us. Told us to tell them where the pack was, or they would kill us." Ellie growled suddenly. "They went down the line. Said if we did not tell them, they would kill us one by one. They asked each of us in turn, and when we refused to tell them, they killed the first one in line. And they started again." Ellie paused. "There was nothing we could do, other than die without telling where the rest of us were." Another low growl escaped her. "And then… they came to Galen. He was no chicken, he knew how to handle himself, but he had just seen five of his friends die, along with his older brother. It was not easy for us. He told them where to find the rest of our clan." Her eyes sharpened and focused on me suddenly. "And they killed him, shoved a dagger in his stomach and let him bleed to death. There were only a few of us left, and…" She trailed off, pain in her eyes, and so much anger.

"They killed them one by one, slit their throats. Before they got to Ellie… I had stopped the man who held her. I had punched him in the side and he dropped the dagger he held and Ellie. She hit the ground coughing because he had held her so tight around the chest." Kai looked ready to do it again. "The only thing I could think to do was grab the dagger, and I held it up, standing in front of her. I said she was mine and no one would touch her."

"They left me alone, but I did not understand what Kai had said. He had spoken in Russian, which some at the bar had understood. But I did not." Ellie frowned and looked away. "They left me alone, but I did not understand. This man… he had spoken an unknown language and I had no idea what he was going to do with me. The only thing I understood was that Galen had told where to find the rest of the clan. But the people were streaming out of the inn, shouting for a town meeting." She looked at the door. "I could not get out in time. They found the clan. By the time I had gotten away… half of the clan was dead, the other half fled. I tracked them down. Once Jaime saw me, she blamed me. She had lost everyone and she blamed it on me because I was the only one of the group left alive. The others smelled the human on me, labeled me a traitor and I had to escape as soon as possible." Ellie looked at me.

"The only place you could go was…" I looked at Kai, looking for confirmation.

Instead it was Ellie that answered me, "I was forced, by what Kai did, to return to him. He had saved me, and if any other human saw me… I knew they would kill me as soon as they realized what I was. But I could not go back to my clan."

"Which is why she is with you." I said to Kai. This explained a lot of my earlier questions about Tala's comments. I sighed, and suddenly I felt exhausted again.

Ellie looked at me concern written over her features. "The stuff they are giving you will help you heal." She said softly. Her features softened. "Go to sleep. We will wake you if anything interesting happens." She said softly.

I lay down, following orders more because I did not feel good than because I thought she was right. Yet, I could hardly keep my eyes open.

-o-o-o-o-

"You can't do this!" I heard Kai hiss out. I opened my eyes.

"I will." Ellie replied.

They were standing in the middle of the room, both of them angry at the other. I had the distinct feeling that I had woken in the middle of a fight.

"I have to do this, Kai. There is no choice." Ellie said very softly, the anger fading from her features, and replaced by a look of sad determination.

"Angel, you, and your companions, need to follow us." The girl that Ellie had called Viorica said from the doorway.

"Thank you, Rica." Ellie said, nodding at her. "May we have a moment?"

Rica nodded and shut the door again. Ellie looked at me. "Rei, you should be almost done healing, you should be able to walk fine now. It's been three days. Your fever is gone. Which is not to say that you are perfectly fine, but you'll be fine long enough to get to a doctor." I nodded at her, confused at the length of time I had been asleep and what exactly was going on now. Ellie turned back to Kai. "Kai…" Her voice was soft and sweet, her eyes downcast. "Please let me do this, there is no other way." She lifted her head, her eyes looking into his.

I was so confused about the topic of conversation that I almost gave up listening to it at all.

"Kai… I love you." Ellie said. Then she kissed him on the lips.

Kai was just as surprised as I was. She pulled back before he could respond.

"Angel, we have to go now." Rica said, having just opened the door.

"Thank you Rica, for allowing the time." Ellie gave a smile. She followed Rica out without another word.

I stood up. Kai was frozen, looking at the door, pain evident on his face. This girl meant everything to him, and it seemed as if she was saying goodbye.

"Kai…" I said. "We have to go…"

"Huh?" He said, suddenly shaking his head. "Oh." He frowned, but followed me out.

We were lead by our five guards through the passageways. Back to the first room we had been in, the one with the columns and the roof and stone ground. All of the wolves appeared to be there, waiting. They all faced the doorway that we walked through. Standing there was Costel and three other wolves, one other male and two females.

We were led to stand in front of them, as they stood on the stairs. As soon as we were visible, the others began talking, whispering, growling. Costel raised one of his hands, but no silence came.

He let out a loud howl, and the congregation fell silent.

"We have spoken, the Alphas and the Seconds. We have spoken to Angel, who was once a part of our group." Noise erupted. "Silence!" He howled out. "You all have no right at this point to speak! We have seen each of you and heard your concerns! We have taken each into consideration! Be quiet and hear us out." The group waited silently, or almost so, for a few whispers came from different sections.

Costel looked down at us. "Humans… and other species are not to be trusted. This we are taught, each by our parents. This is something, which has been true every year and every day of our lives. You have no say in our society."

"Nor do traitors." A familiar voice mumbled from my right. I glanced over. It was Jaime.

Costel ignored her. "Therefore, under consideration of the threat you pose by being humans and now knowing where we are located, you shall be executed."

There were cheers from some of the crowd, just one here and there, but not all of them.

"And Angel, as being a traitor, and thus considered so by the majority of the pack, you shall as well be executed." Costel finished.

The same people cheered, but I noted that it was less than the majority.

Costel looked at one of the wolves off to our right. "You shall take them to be executed." He said to a very large wolf, who happened to be female.

"Wait!" Ellie said. All eyes drifted off of Costel and onto her.

"You have something to say, traitor?" Jaime snarled out.

Ellie glanced at Jaime cautiously, then back at Costel, who stared at her. I got the feeling that he knew what she was going to do.

"They have done nothing wrong." Ellie said.

"You forget," Jaime said, "They know where we live." Jaime was glaring.

"But they have no idea how to get here! It's all forest. And one of them is too sick to have any idea how we got here." Ellie argued. "Why must we kill for no reason?"

"It isn't for no reason!" Jaime countered. "They are strangers and know where we live. They could bring others to hunt us down!" There were shouts of agreement.

"That is called fear, Jaime, and if that is why you kill, then you are no better than a human, are you?" Ellie replied, calmly. Murmurs came from the crowd. "I am not asking for much. They can't find their way back here. It is all forest and snow to them. And if you just take them out during night time, then they really won't have any idea at all."

Costel looked at her. "This is true, Angel. However, there is still the matter of paying for what has happened." He looked at her, and I could tell that he was unhappy with the situation.

"All you need is me then." Ellie said, "Most blame me for what happened. I will stay here. Punish me however you want." She looked at us, and I could see pain in Kai's face and in Ellie's face. "Just… let them leave. They have done nothing. Everything is my fault."

Costel waited for a moment, then he looked at the three standing with him. Each gave a nod. "We have decided this is acceptable." He said turning back to us.

Jaime moved before anyone else, she struck Ellie across the face, blood began to run down her.

"This is not acceptable!" She screamed out. "You are allowing a traitor to run the pack!"

Others agreed with her, but not all of them. Our guards surrounded Kai and I. Rica grabbed both of us, and they took us from the fray.

She had to literal drag Kai away, as he was struggling to get back to Ellie. As for Ellie, the last thing I saw of her was just her standing there, as the gap in wolves closed. Tears were running down her face and she was just watching Kai as Rica dragged him away, fighting him the whole time.

The wolves took us from the fight that had broken out, leaving Ellie there in the middle of it. We did not get to see her again as we left.

The group took us to the forest, led us through it. Some of the others had to help Rica drag Kai, but eventually, he stopped struggling. He followed with a blank disheartened look on his face.

I wanted to say something, but there simply was nothing to say.

We walked for what felt like a long time, but finally, we came out onto the edge of a town. The wolves stopped and looked at it, silent, as they had been the whole trip.

They almost seemed nervous, antsy, unhappy at being so close to the town. Considering what Ellie had told me about the last time, I was not surprised.

Rica looked at us, and for the first time I noticed her eyes were violet. "Come." She told us in Russian. She nodded at the others, who disappeared back into the forest.

She walked quickly, and Kai followed zombie like. I followed both, making certain that Kai would keep walking.

"The others… do not speak Russian at all." Rica said, a serious expression on her pale face.

She lead us through back allies, past trash and feral cats, who simply hissed at us as we passed. Rica ignored them. Kai never looked around at them, he just looked straight ahead.

After we had passed about twenty buildings, she turned down an ally to our right, and then we were at the main street, standing in front of a store of some sort. She opened the door, and a man, pale as Rica, with dark brown eyes, looked up from the counter.

"Rica!" He said as we entered and then grinned. The rest of what he said I did not understand. Rica replied in the same. He frowned at whatever she had told him. She gestured toward us, speaking faster as she went, but in a very low voice.

He looked at us, saw the expression, or lack there of, on Kai's face, and came out from behind the counter.

"You're friends are upstairs. They said Angel… Ellie knew them. So I knew what they were here for." He reached behind the counter and pulled out some sort of drinks. "Here, drink this. It will help."

Kai gave an annoyed look to the man. "Help?" He bit off the word sharply. "How exactly will it help?" He was glaring at the man, whose name Rica had never said.

"It won't help with that. But you'll get dehydrated. You need something to drink." He held it out to Kai.

Kai just knocked the proffered drink from the man's hand and walked past him, headed toward where the stairs were visible in the back of the shop.

"I hope you will take some. It is water." The man said to me, while Rica fetched a mop from behind the counter.

I took the drink and wondered if I should follow Kai.

"My name is Adrian." He said softly. "Your friend… Rica says they were close. She also says that though Angel is strong, more than half the pack is with Jaime and not Costel. We will have to get you out of here as soon as possible. They will not allow you to know where the pack is. But we, your guards, Rica and I, as well as Costel, are with Ellie. She was not at fault, and she has had to pay for the mistake the group made as much as Jaime. As much as some of us others. More so. She was there. And she was a child." Adrian looked behind the counter, where pictures stood. "It's a pity that so many lines are going to destroyed. By what happened years ago. It should not still be going on." He shook his head. "My wife loved that girl as if she were ours… a pack is a community." He looked at me, and I felt the same intensity from his eyes as I had Ellie's eyes. "You have become Angel's pack, thus, you are a part of our community. Even if you are not accepted."

Shouting was heard from upstairs, happy yells from Max and Tyson, and Tala's voice could be heard.

"We will have you out of here before dawn breaks, and on your way to somewhere else. This is what we can do for Angel." Adrian said, and then walked behind the counter. "Go see your friends, they worry over you." He picked up the phone, and Rica put the mop away, the drink now all gone from the floor.

I put the empty glass on the counter, mouthed thank you, and then headed for the stairs.

I could hear Tala's rapid Russian, and for once, I did not want to know what he had to say.

I walked up the stairs, taking my time, because my ankle was killing me. As I reached the top, I realized that no one was saying anything. I found myself in a room with my friends and Tala.

Kai was staring out of the window. Max and Kenny gazed at me curiously, as if I had the answer. Tala was annoyed and Tyson looked peeved at something.

"Rei…" Tala said, noticing my presence. "What happened?"

I looked at Kai, who just glared in the reflection of the window. "I'm sorry, Tala." I just shook my head. He glared at me, but I said nothing more.

Adrian appeared in the doorway. "We will be getting you to a bigger city, its not far away. You can take a plane from there." He looked at each of us in turn. He nodded silently to himself. He attempted Japanese instead of Russian. "Travel in… two hour?" He seemed aware that his speech was not very good in the language. "You be ready? Yes?" He looked at everyone, stared at Kai for a moment, and I knew that Adrian saw what he wanted to see.

He left us there, in an uncomfortable silence in which no one was willing to speak. For two hours we stayed there, and the only thing that changed was that Max and Kenny had sat down, Tyson had gone downstairs and come back up a few times, and Tala had moved over near me. No one spoke to Kai. I seemed to be the only one besides him who even knew exactly what was going on.

After the two hours were up, Adrian came up the stairs. He looked at us, and then watched Kai, he chose to speak in Japanese, despite his problems with the language. "Now, go? Follow… we will go in vehicle…" He gave a hint of a smile. "Lucky. Not many here."

He disappeared from the doorway, and Tyson and Kenny rose, both spared a glance at Kai, and then looked to me and shrugged. They followed Adrian down the stairs. Max followed soon after.

Tala looked at me, then away. He also rose and followed the others. I rose and walked over to Kai.

"Kai… we have to go." I said softly, not daring to get too near him. I could feel some emotion rolling off of him, but it seemed to be mixed, and so I could not tell exactly what it was. "Kai… we can't do anything about her." I felt like I was talking to a brick wall, as no facial expression changed in his reflection.

"We shouldn't have let her stay there." He said softly, almost under his breath.

"Kai…" I wanted to comfort him, but I realized that I really did not have any idea how to. He had always been pretty distant, and now, because of his distance, he was somewhere I could not reach him. "Ellie… she was trying to make sure…"

"I know what she was trying to do!" He suddenly rounded on me and I backed up under his glare. Something flashed in his eyes when I backed up. He looked away. "I can't leave her here, Rei." His voice was so soft, and I knew he was hiding his pain and worry from me.

"Kai, there's nothing we can do." I told him gently, trying to get over my surprise at his sudden anger, which I knew was not really directed at me, I just happened to be the person talking to him at the time.

Suddenly, Adrian was standing beside me, and from Kai's look, I knew he had not seen him enter either.

"Angel can handle herself." Adrian said in Russian, which was decidedly better than his Japanese. "And even if she can't, for which I give you my sincerest apologies," A sad look crossed his face and I knew Adrian was telling the truth, "She would die for someone she cared for. That is the highest honor a wolf can achieve." His face became blank, as did Kai's, and as if by mutual understanding, Adrian left and Kai followed. I watched for a moment and then silently followed them both, wondering if Kai was going to be okay.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

Adrian had taken us in an old vehicle, similar to a Jeep, from the town and we had traveled on what could rightly be called a seldom-used path to a larger city. Adrian did not speak the whole way. Rica had come with us, and she watched out the back the whole time. I got the feeling that this was not a normal thing.

Both wolves were tense as we made the trip. And though it was about two hours until we reached the city, neither had relaxed any more by the time we had reached it.

Adrian parked us near an airport, and judging by the city and the size of the airport, it was the only one in this particular area.

Rica and Adrian escorted us inside, both looking around constantly, scanning for something. I assumed they were looking out for other wolves or a threat to their secret. I was not quite certain which was more important to them.

Adrian had us wait while he went to the teller and retrieved our tickets. He handed them to us as he walked us to the security gate. The security people did not even really take note of our appearance, though we were all still battered and bruised and wearing the same clothing we were when we crashed.

Rica and Adrian watched us leave, neither waving or giving any hint as to their thoughts.

No one said anything as we walked through security or boarded the plane. Every now and then either Max or Tala would shoot concerned glances back towards Kai. I often found myself watching him too, worried about his reaction. But he never gave any hint that anything was wrong.

He sat down in his seat, with the expression he always had before Ellie. I was sorry to know that it was him blocking us out, keeping everyone out, as it had been before seeing them together. He had actually been more open, if not more bothered by everything. But even being bothered was better than this, where he would show nothing at all.

I sat beside him on the plane, and Tala was across the aisle. The others were all in front of us again.

Kai said nothing the whole flight, even to the attendant. He seemed to be locked away in himself, but I was not sure what exactly he was hiding from- himself or us or the circumstances or all of it in general.

I guess it doesn't matter what he was hiding from. I could tell he was hurt and that was really all that mattered.

Having no way to comfort him, and knowing that he would not accept it if I could, I curled up and attempted sleep.

-o-o-o-

Kai was particularly vicious during his battles. We won, but that hardly seemed the reason for his harsh fighting.

While we went out to celebrate, Kai and Tala headed for the hotel.

I don't think that any of us was surprised when we returned to the hotel and they were gone, along with all their things.

Within the week, we each had returned home. Waiting at my house for me was a letter. It was from Tala. I was glad he had done as I had asked, and promised to keep me updated on Kai as much as possible.

My homecoming had been joyful, seeing everyone again, but in the back of my mind I was worried about Kai and Ellie, certain of nothing other than the fact that they loved each other and that being apart would hurt them both. If Ellie was even alive.

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Author: well, I finished it. And I was wondering what anyone who has read it thought??? Did anyone actually read this...  
If you did, thank you, and I hope it was at least somewhat enjoyable :) Have fun- Kitty


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